A movement on the streets
Orlando to paint ‘Black Lives Matter’ on Rosalind Avenue near Lake Eola
The city of Orlando has begun the process of painting “Black Lives Matter” across Rosalind Avenue alongside Lake Eola Park, joining a trend of similar murals that have been painted in cities across the country.
The mural began with stenciling Thursday and is expected to be completed by Saturday morning, city spokeswoman Cassandra Lafser said.
It will be painted in the colors of the Pan-African flag: red, black and green.
Lafser said local community and faith leaders brought the idea to the city.
The mural’s painting comes after thousands of people in recent weeks have marched through downtown Orlando to protest police brutality and racial inequality in the wake of the Minneapolis killing of George Floyd.
Lake Eola has been a frequent site for the demonstrations, along with City Hall and the Orlando Police Department.
Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was being arrested on suspicion of passbeen ing a counterfeit bill last month when a white officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd cried out that he could not breathe, before losing consciousness.
Video of Floyd’s desperate pleas reignited momentum in the Black Lives Matter movement, which emerged after George Zimmerman’s 2013 acquittal in the killing of 17-year-old
Trayvon Martin in Sanford.
Amid nationwide demonstration, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on June 5 unveiled a yellow Black Lives Matter mural the district’s public works staff
Friday, June 26, 2020 had painted across the street in front of Lafayette Square, which had been occupied by protesters for days.
Dozens of cities have since followed suit.
Some of the murals have painted by city workers, others by activists and artists. The city of St. Petersburg unveiled its colorful street mural last Friday, as part of its celebration of Juneteenth.