In this artwork, how is the George Floyd protests of the 21st-century controversy elucidated?
Over several nights in late May and early June 2020, Asheville residents gathered by the Vance Monument in Pack Square to protest the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Protesters marked the monument's pedestal with spray paint. The nationwide and worldwide George Floyd protests called for social justice, including the removal of monuments to the Civil War and racists. Local newspaper reporter John Boyle wrote, "The killing of Minneapolis resident George Floyd under the knee of police officer Derek Chauvin...changed everything in America, though, including our quaint mountain city's assessment of its most visible monument." One June 5, peaceful protestors used a wall in the monument square to create an altar, covered with photographs of victims of police brutality.On July 8, 2020, city workers began the process of covering the monument "in order to reduce its impact on the community and to reduce the risk of harm it presents in its current state". This action resulted from a joint resolution passed by the Asheville and Buncombe County. The cost was $18,500, plus $2,600 a month to rent scaffolding. Boyle noted, "It really looks like someone draped a giant plastic leaf bag over the obelisk and cinched it up real tight. It simultaneously piques your curiosity and makes you recoil at its ugliness."On July 29, Change.org and the George Floyd Foundation temporarily replaced Vance Monument with a hologram of George Floyd. This was part of a national tour, following the Freedom Riders' route, in Floyd's memory. The goal of the week-long hologram installation was to transform spaces with racist Confederation symbols into places of solidarity, hope, and forward-thinking change.
Minneapolis Civil War obelisk Asheville Buncombe County murder of George Floyd George Floyd Foundation Change.org George Floyd protests Freedom Riders