Activities

Memorialize the Movement (MTM) is a grassroots organization that was created in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department and the protests that followed on May 25th, 2020. MTM was born from the need to address the lack of racial and economic justice in the city of Minneapolis. When it became clear that there was no plan for the collection and preservation of the plywood murals made by 2020 protesters and mourners, MTM’s founder, Leesa Kelly, took on the responsibility of collecting as many of these artworks as possible so that the Black and Brown stories they told would not be lost. Preserving and activating the plywood murals ensures that the story of these historic events are told by the voices of the Black community who experienced them. Our work is meant to memorialize this time and place in history and honor the original purpose of the murals, which were a means of protest. Justice is truth, and truth lives in these murals. The purpose of our work in preserving the plywood murals is to bring the Black narrative to the forefront of this ongoing fight for justice and to shed light on the issues of police brutality, police accountability, state violence, and the Black experience in this renewed racial justice movement.