‘He changed the world’
Canarsie corner gets a mural honoring George Floyd
BY LLOYD MITCHELL
A sprawling mural painted
in memory of George Floyd
was unveiled near the corner
of East 80th Street and Flatlands
Avenue in Canarsie on
Monday.
The mural took about a
month to create, according
to artist Kenny Altidor, who
in the past has paid tribute to
fallen police officers, firefighters
and other first responders.
“This makes me feel good,”
he said. “It was something I
definitely had to do, just like
I’ve done for fallen police and
firefighters in the area.”
On May 25, Minneapolis police
officers arrested Floyd, a
46-year-old Black man, for allegedly
using a counterfeit bill.
During the arrest, Police Officer
Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s
neck for eight continuous minutes,
killing him. The incident
sparked global outrage about
police brutality and prompted
ongoing protests which have
COURIER L 4 IFE, JULY 17-23, 2020
continued across the city.
On July 13, elected officials
and neighborhood residents
came together for the mural’s
unveiling, which State Senator
Roxanne Persaud said would
serve as reminder of how far
the Black Lives Matter movement
has come — and how much
work still needs to be done.
“This will be a reminder
that we are overcoming daily
struggles and that Black lives
still matter,” she said.
“My brother changed the
world just like how he said he
would,” Floyd’s brother Terrence
said Monday at the unveiling.
“I still wish I could see
him. Now I will jump on a bus
to see him in Canarsie.”
The mural depicts George
Floyd’s face sitting above a
half-earth, with the inscription
“Black Lives Matter.”
Police officers from the 69th
Precinct also helped lend a
hand in the painting, according
to Altidor.
Terrence Floyd speaks at the unveiling of a new mural in memory of his brother George.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
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