The George Floyd Mural in downtown Brownsville by local artist Marcus Castro has been vandalized after just a little over two weeks since it was painted.
The mural, which features the face of George Floyd on different tones of blue and colorful butterflies, has been splashed with white paint.
“I really hope that it wasn’t someone from my generation that did it … since we grew up with a little more knowledge, with the whole social media and all this information being available to us since a young age, that I just feel that it’s our duty to stop this, this is wrong, we have to be better, everybody,” he said.
The local artist said he has plans on repainting it and making it “even better” and thanked whoever vandalized it for inspiring him. He added while he was mad at first he now sees it as an opportunity to improve it.
“Thank you very much because it actually inspired me to do something that’s better and to do it again,” he said.
Floyd lost his life on May 25 after Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin used a knee-to-neck restraint to pin him on the ground. Floyd had allegedly attempted to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a nearby market.
The mural is hashtagged #icantbreathe and commemorates Floyd’s transition into the next life for the community to remember.
“The butterflies are something that catch all of our eyes — if a little kid passes by, they’ll be more interested in it. It’s something we can all enjoy and it symbolizes spreading your wings, now being free,” Castro told The Herald in a previous interview.
