Restoration for George Floyd mural underway 

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FRIDAY, July 24 — Back in June, a mural-sized portrait of George Floyd appeared on the Lansing River Trail underneath the I-496 overpass. Sadly, it only took little over a month for vandals to deface it. With help from the community and a generous donation from the Lansing Art Gallery, the mural will return to its former glory.  

Starting today, Flint artist Isiah Lattimore is working on the piece again. He can be spotted kneeling on the ground in front of an all-black wall, holding a spray paint can. In order to fix his work, he has to start all over again from scratch. 

“I wasn’t surprised that the mural was vandalized,” Lattimore said. “I wasn’t excited about it either.” Almost immediately after learning of the mural’s destruction people began to offer him support. Many reached out to Lattimore asking how they could help restore it.  

Local artist Marissa Thaler started a GoFundMe to help out the project. With money pouring in, Lattimore said that he now has enough funds to start working on additional projects.  

“We expanded the space a little bit. We want to add a few new elements,” said Lattimore. “And I want it to look better.” 

Lattimore wants to honor Floyd and acknowledge the gravity of the situation, while also bringing elements of street art into the mural. He said the new version of the mural will acknowledge the group effort that went into its creation.  

“This mural is a good example of a possible solution to our situation,” Lattimore said. “We couldn’t stop people from vandalizing it, just like we couldn’t stop that police officer from taking George Floyd’s life.” 

Lattimore believes people uniting is the only way to achieve progress. He said he hopes more people will contribute to the struggle in real and tangible ways.  

“The answer is more elusive than we’d like to see,” he said. “But I think we’re heading in the right direction. I think the movement is still going strong.” 

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