George Floyd Mural
George Floyd Memorial Mural — Portland, June 2020
In early June 2020—against the backdrop of a global pandemic and the uprising of the Black Lives Matter movement—I picked up a brush and painted the portrait of George Floyd and the words “I can’t breathe” across the plywood covering the looted Apple Store in downtown Portland. The mural stretched over 100 feet long, making a bold, urgent statement on the city’s shuttered storefronts.
What started as a spontaneous act became something much bigger. Within hours, community members—artists and passersby alike—added portraits, names, poems, and candles. I returned each day to paint the faces of other Black individuals killed by police, at the request of their families. What unfolded was a living tapestry fueled by grief, solidarity, and shared activism.
Eventually, I organized a volunteer-led effort to complete the mural’s background—turning a solitary expression of sorrow into a collective, healing canvas. The artwork took on a life of its own. It quickly drew national attention and became a powerful symbol of the protest movement. In December, Apple took steps to preserve it, covering the mural for protection—and in January 2021, they donated the piece to Don’t Shoot PDX, ensuring its preservation as an artifact of justice and remembrance.
