Cleveland, OH - The death of George Floyd caused a national uproar throughout the country. Mr. Floyd was a black man killed by a white police officer. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the incident occurred May 25, 2020, during an arrest after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit $20 bill. This tragedy sparked national conversations regarding race relations, race-baiting, police, community relations, and justice reform. Organizations and businesses placed billboards and banners supporting Black Lives Matter throughout the country. As a result, many elected officials felt a need to do something of expression to say, Black Lives Matter.
In Washington DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser authorized a street painting with giant, yellow letters that read "BLACK LIVES MATTER." According to CNN, the massive banner-like project spans two blocks of 16th Street, a central axis that leads southward straight to the White House. Each of the 16 bold yellow letters spans the width of the two-lane street, creating an unmistakable visual spotted by aerial cameras and virtually anyone within a few blocks. Mayor Bowser also granted a secondary street named signage "Black Lives Matter." https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/05/us/black-lives-matter-dc-street-white-house-trnd/index.html
As many cities struggled to duplicate the actions of Mayor Bowser, other cities like Cleveland, Oh, who decided to copycat the measure did so on a smaller scale. Unlike Washington DC, the city of Cleveland did not make a bold decision to carve a pavement painting on a prominent street close to Cleveland City Hall. Instead, the city officials placed the street painting in Cleveland WARD 6 in a crime-ridden area. The city fixed the Black Lives Matter pavement art in June 2020 between E. 93rd Bessemer to E. 93rd Raymond street. https://fox8.com/news/cleveland-is-getting-its-own-black-lives-matter-street-mural-this-weekend/
A year and a half later, while Mayor Bowser is permanently affixing the street mural in Washington DC, the City of Cleveland's street mural has faded away, leaving an eyesore in a community already filled with insurmountable problems.
WARD SIX resident Tony Williams forgot that the street art was there. It took him a moment to think about it. "Oh, yea, I remember. Is it gone? I never paid too much attention to it".
"I don't think much about this issue. It seems to have been a waste of money" says, Dorothy Smith. Smith resides in Cleveland, WARD FOUR.
"Let it go. The Black Lives Matter street sign was a figuration. It was symbolism. The city did not place any resources or financial backing to help deter crime in our communities", stated Community Activist Arnold Shurn.
We sent an email to Blaine Griffin, but he did not respond in time for this article.
Griffin is the Councilman of WARD SIX.
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