April 2, 2025
Salt Lake Metropolis removes murals of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor to create a “public asset.”
Salt Lake Metropolis is following Washington, D.C., in eradicating memorials associated to police brutality, particularly Black Lives Matter murals. Not like the nation’s capital, nevertheless, Salt Lake Metropolis is demolishing the murals as a part of an effort to redevelop the world for financial progress.
The murals had been positioned in an space generally known as Fleet Block, an 8.5-acre part of land that was beforehand vacant. The area turned a focus for neighborhood activism, with 26 murals commemorating victims of police violence. Town’s choice to take away them has drawn combined reactions from residents.
Town has acknowledged a number of causes for the elimination, together with a build-up of asbestos and structural decline. Metropolis management additionally famous the bills associated to repairs are within the tens of millions. Salt Lake Metropolis Council Member Darin Mano issued an announcement acknowledging the emotional significance of the murals whereas emphasizing the necessity to revitalize the deteriorating web site.
“I acknowledge that this block has been a sacred area for a lot of in recent times – a spot of mourning for households and a strong name for social justice and police reform,” Mano wrote. “I perceive how troublesome it’s to see this area change… Town has been working for over a decade to redevelop the previous Fleet Block, because the buildings had been not structurally or environmentally viable, with the objective of creating a public asset for the neighborhood.”
As a part of the redevelopment plan, three acres of the positioning will probably be devoted to a public inexperienced area, which metropolis officers say is way wanted. Further land will probably be allotted for native companies, in an effort to assist the world’s economic system.
Whereas the town touts the challenge as progress, some residents see it as a loss. Mona Robinson, a Salt Lake Metropolis resident, mentioned she mourns the elimination of the murals.
“It’s for the unsuitable cause — loss of life by the hands of officers — however it was a spot for us to mourn and present respect for the lives misplaced,” Robinson mentioned.
Some really feel that demolishing the area, which depicts a number of victims of police brutality, together with Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, sends a broader message that the town not prioritizes its most marginalized residents. Robinson’s issues are amplified by Salt Lake Metropolis’s demographics, as the world stays majority white. In line with the 2023 U.S. Census, 70% of residents are white. Black individuals, largely the goal of protests towards police brutality, make up solely 2.7% of the town’s inhabitants.
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