The 7,000 square foot mural was organized by Future History Now in partnership with Banneker-Douglass Museum and The Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture.
A powerful and massive new mural dedicated to the memory of Breonna Taylor and to the Black Lives Matter movement has been unveiled in Annapolis, Maryland.
The large scale mural, revealed this weekend, showcases the face of the late EMT who was killed in her apartment on March 13 by police in Louisville, Kentucky. Next to her image reads the text, “Black Lives Matter."
The 7,000-square foot mural was organized by Future History Now in partnership with Banneker-Douglass Museum and the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture.
"We wanted to choose a subject that threw attention to the fact that there is violence toward African American women, and we didn't want [Taylor] to be forgotten about. At the time, it seemed like the George Floyd incident was getting a lot more attention," Future History Now's co-founder Julia Gibb told CNN.
"We think she and George Floyd symbolize a turning point in our culture and we wanted to, as this small town, be involved in this national conversation, and have children's voices and feelings be involved in the national conversation."
The mural, which was not intended to be finished Independence Day weekend, was unveiled Sunday after volunteers from near and far came to paint the depiction of the 25-year-old in the city’s historically Black neighborhood.
In all, the mural took 24 hours to complete and 40 volunteers joined 10 artists to get the job done.
In documentation previously obtained by the Louisville Courier-Journal, police were authorized to carry out a “no-knock” warrant on Taylor’s home on March 13 as part of a narcotics investigation on a home ten miles away. Neither Taylor nor her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were the investigation's target. Police had suspected, though, that Taylor’s home was used to receive drugs.
Authorities initially said they identified themselves despite the “no-knock” warrant, but Walker reportedly opened fire on police because he thought the home was being broken into. Police said the officers were “immediately” met by gunfire when they entered Taylor and Walker's home, at which point they returned fire.
Walker called 911 during the ordeal and police informed him he’d shot an officer. He was initially charged with attempted murder, but his charges were later dropped.
In the wake of Taylor's death, the city has banned "no-knock" warrants.
In June, Officer Brett Hankison was fired from the Louisville Metro Police Department. Officer Myles Cosgrove and John Mattingly have been reassigned. None of the officers have been arrested or charged in Taylor’s death.
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