Remembering George Floyd on his
48th birthday in Union Square
Terrance Floyd becomes emotional during the birthday ceremony.
BY DEAN MOSES
On Thursday, Oct. 14, George
Floyd would have turned 48
years old; however, this day is
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
also a sobering reminder of his untimely
death. In memory of a life taken too soon,
Confront Art and Terrence Floyd rang in
George Floyd’s birthday a day early with
song and balloons on Oct. 13.
Union Square Park is currently the
host of a three piece sculpture display
that showcases the busts of John Lewis,
Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd. With
these Black culture memorials reaching
hundreds of visitors each and every week,
the artworks’ coordinator, Confront Art,
held a service on Wednesday evening in
his memory.
With Terence Floyd, George Floyd’s
brother, looking on, the Resistance Revival
chorus performed a variety of powerful
songs beneath the likeness of a man who
became a symbol for the Black Lives Matter
movement.
“We don’t necessarily want to celebrate
but we want to honor,” co-founder of
Confront Art Lindsay Eshelman told
amNewYork Metro. “Not a lot of people
know that George Floyd was a musician,
so when we honor him we want to do
it in a way, from the other side, he will
appreciate.”
The Resistance Revival Chorus is collective
of more than 60 women, and nonbinary
singers who specialize in uplifting
women and marginalized groups through
the power of music. Dressed in white the
group formed a circle beneath the bust of
Floyd and belted out several songs that
swiftly drew a crowd of spectators.
Terrence Floyd, who attended the occasion
with his family, told amNewYork
Metro that he appreciated the recognition
of his brother.
“The community and New York is
showing my brother love, especially for
his birthday. Even though he is not here
physically with me, I am able to come here
and see his face,” Terrence Floyd said, adding
that his brother would have joked. “He
would have loved it, he would have said
the singing was off key,” Terrence Floyd
said jokingly.
As the ceremony came to a close, several
visitors placed fl owers at the foot of the
Floyd statue and members of Confront Art
placed black and gold balloons around it as
a birthday gift. Although the installation
will only be available at Union Square until
the end of the month, Confront Art said
they hope to tour the statues across the
nation.
“We are working on a possible tour to
historically black colleges and we would
also like it to go to a few other places.
While it has been in the media, we really
think that the impact is in people seeing
it in person,” Confront Art co-founder
Andrew Cohen.
Museum of Chinese in America extends
exhibit detailing history of anti-Asian hate
BY HAEVEN GIBBONS
The Museum of Chinese in America
announced on Oct. 14 that its exhibit
“Responses: Asian American
Voices Resisting the Tides of Racism,” will
be extended through March 2022.
The exhibit details “the historical roots
of anti-Asian and Asian American Pacifi c
Islanders (APPI) racism from the early
days of American history until the rise of
anti-AAPI racism and violence today,” according
to a press release from the Museum
of Chinese in America.
There have been more than 9,000 anti-
Asian American Pacifi c Islander hate crime
incidents since March 2020.
“Now more than ever, when anti-Asian
hate is heightened around the country, we’re
proud to extend our exhibition to serve as a
voice for the Asian and Chinese American
community, and to help heal through education
at this crucial moment” said Nancy
Yao Maasbach, president of the Museum of
Chinese in America in the release. “We’re
committed to serving as a cultural pillar and
educational space so that we can broaden the
American narrative to be inclusive for all.”
The free exhibit launched last summer
after the museum was closed for more than
a year due to COVID-19 and a fi ve-alarm
fi re that resulted in 85 percent of the museum’s
artifacts needing restoration.
Responses includes a hand-painted timeline
that details 200 years of racism against
the Asian American Pacifi c Islanders community
including discriminatory laws and
policies, riots and intimidation campaigns,
according to the release.
Henry Tang, who visits the museum on
a regular basis, said the challenges Asian
Americans have gone through over the
decades is refl ected well throughout the
exhibition.
“Bringing it (the history) alive is very
important so that the 21st century public
observers, whether they are Asians or non-
Asians, become aware of that history, which
unfortunately, from a historical point of view,
was not talked about as much inside the
American educational system,” Tang said.
The exhibition explains the roots of anti-
Asian and Asian American Pacifi c Islanders
racism that is still happening today.
“The exhibition brings a huge awareness
to the public, and more people should visit
it to understand it,” Tang said.
A collection of artworks, video footage,
essays and artifacts is also showcased in
the exhibit. The materials were “submitted
by people across the nation through
MOCA’s One World COVID-19 Special
Collection, a year-long initiative designed
to tell a multi-dimensional story of the
pandemic through an Asian American
lens,” the release said.
Music and dance have also been incorporated
into the exhibit. Music composers
ARKAI and modern dance company J
CHEN PROJECT interpret the exhibition’s
key themes through their artistic mediums.
The museum is open Thursday through
Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. except on
Thursdays when the museum remains open
until 9 p.m. The digital exhibits can be accessed
at any time. The museum is located
at 215 Centre Street.
MUSEUM OF CHINESE IN AMERICA
The Museum of Chinese in America exhibit “Responses: Asian American
Voices Resisting the Tides of Racism.”
Schneps Mediia October 21, 2021 3