Add North Carolina's capital city to those sporting a bold message denouncing racism painted in large yellow letters on a city street.
Artists on Sunday painted the words "End Racism Now" on Martin Street in downtown Raleigh in front of the Contemporary Art Museum, the Raleigh News & Observer reported.
The message was added days after the mayor of Washington, D.C., had the words "Black Lives Matter" painted in large yellow letters on a street leading to the White House. That came amid days of demonstrations in the nation's capital and all over the country in response to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed and handcuffed black man in Minneapolis.
Floyd died May 25 after a white officer pressed his knee into his neck, ignoring Floyd’s cries and holding it there even after Floyd stopped moving.
View this post on Instagram Thank you. Thank you. WE DID THIS. A post shared by Asher (@asher.g) on Jun 7, 2020 at 11:48am PDT
Charman Driver, former chair of the Contemporary Art Museum, called it "a very painful totem." The street leads to the State Capitol grounds, where Confederate monuments have been criticized by protesters as offensive.
A city engineer barricaded the street for the artists early Sunday.
I could not let the sun set on this day/week/end without admiring this art person. Thank you to the Raleigh business owners on this street who came together to display the message. End Racism Now. Black Lives Matter. @camraleigh @RaleighDenim pic.twitter.com/4JK0XHA8c3
— Jen Ferrell (@ncjenferrell) June 8, 2020
"We did it. And it's wonderful. And we feel really good about it. Our voices are being heard, but it's not enough," Driver said.
Driver said the effort won't stop with street art.
"This is peaceful, but I tell you one thing — if they don't remove those things it is not going to be so peaceful," she said.
