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A new mural that pays tribute to George Floyd and recognizes the Black Lives Matter movement is now complete in south Fayetteville.
The mural, located on the old spring shop building at 704 S. Washington Ave., was created by local artist Octavio Logo, and depicts a portrait of Floyd, along with the words “Black Lives Matter,” Floyd’s name, and the date of his death.
The new work was painted on the west-facing wall of the same building that also includes other murals by the same artist depicting African American and Native American figures.
Logo was reluctant to speak to us about the mural, and wanted the painting to speak for itself.
“I’m not important here and this is not about me, but about George Floyd, about police brutality and about Black Lives Matter,” he said.
The work is related to protests of systematic racism and police brutality that have erupted in all 50 states across the country in recent days following the death of Floyd, a 46-year old black man who was killed in police custody on May 25 when a white Minneapolis police officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds after he was accused of buying cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill.
The artist told KNWA he considers the work to be “a shrine, an altar, to recognize what is going on,” and that the candles near the work are lit in honor of Floyd and others who have been victims of police brutality.
The new work in Fayetteville has already been recognized nationally among several tributes to Floyd created by artists all over the U.S. in recent days.
The mural was completed from start to finish in a single day, on Monday, June 1.
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