If silence is violence, the residents of Oakland have an answer for that; art. Throughout Saturday artists of all ages and ethnicities took their paint, paintbrushes and spray paint to claim boarded windows in Downtown Oakland as forms of beautiful expression.
If there was ever a question of what is on the minds of the people of Oakland, just stroll down Broadway by Frank Ogawa Plaza where mass looting and fires took place just the week before, you will see vibrant colors of work with inclusive words of solidarity.
Black mothers brought their children to take pictures in front of the artwork, which said things like “Black girls deserve better” and “Black Lives Matter.” Another quoted George Floyds, daughter Gionna Floyd who has been seen in a viral video saying, “Daddy changed the world.”
An alter tributing Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was shot and killed in her sleep by police who entered the wrong home on a no-knock search warrant, had balloons, candles and happy birthday wishes for Taylor. She would have turned 27-years-old June 5.
The murals extend into Chinatown which was also hard hit by looting. A community clean up plan for Chinatown was also scheduled for Sunday from GoodGoodEatz on Instagram asking for volunteers to bring their brooms and sign up.
