A hologram of George Floyd is being projected around the southern states of the US, as artists join the fight to keep the story of his untimely death alive.
Though the media coverage on the protests sparked by George Floyd’s death have seemed to come to a standstill, the activism is accelerating with its foot firmly on the pedal. After a fight that ended in statues of controversial figures being torn down, the places they once occupied are becoming home to a new historical symbol in the form of a hologram.
Floyd, who died in a police brutality attack in May, triggered a tidal wave of protests across the globe in an effort to achieve racial equality. The struggle to have his killers arrested grew into a loud conversation that stretched across many different levels in an attempt to bring an end to minority mistreatment. Protests cannot exist without petitions for their cause, and so the justice for George Floyd petition called out to artists to work on this new project.
The hologram was projected in Richmond, Virginia, on Tuesday, in front of the statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee, which is soon to be taken down. The aim is to transform artistic pieces of historical figures that embody racism and the Confederacy and replace them with a symbol of change and solidarity.
The projection is planned to be passed as a torch to reignite the fire of outrage against racism and police brutality. A Monumental Change: The George Floyd Hologram Memorial Project, have organised for the hologram to journey to at least five more states, in a statement echo of the same route taken by the Freedom Riders in 1961 during the civil rights movement.
Many gathered to deliver speeches, music and art to show their respect for Floyd and his family, and to demonstrate their unwavering determination for his killers to be brought to justice.