Apple Donates George Floyd’s Mural From Downtown Portland Store To Don’t Shoot PDX

Apple donated the massive Black Lives Matter mural covering its downtown store to the Portland civil rights organization, Don’t Shoot PDX.

The panels “reflect the responses of so many who witnessed this summer’s uprisings and the joint call to action against institutionalized violence and white nationalism,” Don’t Shoot PDX wrote in its newsletter this past. week.

Apple’s downtown Portland location is surrounded on three sides by floor-to-ceiling windows. Like many downtown merchants, the store has been closed since June amid nightly civil rights protests that lasted all summer and sporadic vandalism that continued throughout the fall.

Portland artist Emma Berger began painting the mural on June 1 on Apple’s black plywood with a painting by George Floyd and the phrase “I can’t breathe.” This was joined soon after by other artists who added images and names of other African Americans killed by police violence.

“Artists from the Portland community have redesigned the blank canvas surrounding our Apple Store Pioneer Place and created a monumental work of art honoring the ongoing struggle for justice and the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. Apple supports artists and all those who fight for social and racial justice, ”Apple said in a statement Friday.

“We are honored to have hosted the murals and are very happy to entrust the artwork to Don’t Shoot Portland to support their advocacy for social change,” the company said.

The Portland mural took on historic significance last summer as it became a national symbol of protests and unrest related to police violence.

Apple’s downtown store has been closed since May 31, when the Portland protests erupted. Many other downtown merchants are also closed, as the coronavirus pandemic has closed offices and pedestrians have left downtown.

Don’t Shoot PDX features an image of the mural on its webpage. The organization, which opposes racism and police violence, did not immediately say how it planned to use the mural or if it planned to display it publicly.

– Mike Rogoway