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Twin Cities street art honors George Floyd and Black life

A building's exterior reads, "Black lives matter / Rest in power, George Floyd. With love, MPLS." The door is adorned with strips of color (l-r: red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, dark blue, brown, black). To the right of the door, names such as "Eric Garner," "Ahmaud Arbery," "Philando Castile," and "Sandra Bland" are written in white amid a squiggly black line.
A building's exterior reads, "Black lives matter / Rest in power, George Floyd. With love, MPLS." The door is adorned with strips of color (l-r: red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, dark blue, brown, black). To the right of the door, names such as "Eric Garner," "Ahmaud Arbery," "Philando Castile," and "Sandra Bland" are written in white amid a squiggly black line.Pierre Ware for MPR

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June 17, 2020

It's been a few weeks since a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, but traces of the ensuing uprising are still visible around the Twin Cities, particularly in the Powderhorn, Uptown, and Midway neighborhoods. After many business owners boarded up their storefronts, several artists treated these boards as a canvas; their work is astounding, and it's directly tied to graffiti writing, which is one of the four elements of hip-hop.

Photographers Awa Mally and Pierre Ware gathered more than 20 pictures of this Twin Cities art, presenting poignant quotes; images of world-changers like Maya Angelou and George Floyd; and the names of too many Black people, including several trans women, who have lost their lives to white supremacy.

If you created any of this art, please reach us at cjohnson AT mpr DOT org so we can provide credit.

Gallery