Stopping Hate, Sustaining Health
Artist Name: Elaine Milan, Bryant Pacheco, Dana Payer, and Madison Payer
Artist Statement
In December 2019, the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) first emerged—over one hundred years after the 1918 flu epidemic. COVID-19 began to spread globally and arrived in the United States in January 2020. Over the next year, the virus infected and killed millions. While the world confronted this health crisis, brutality and racism in the United States ignited action. On May 25, 2020, a white Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd, a Black man. In 2020 and 2021, the Asian-American community faced hate crimes prompted by the pandemic’s beginning in China. Both of these instances produced protests. While protestors confronted racism and violence, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic became clear. While some of the ways we respond to pandemics have not changed, COVID-19 certainly changed how we protested. Protestors now had to consider certain safety protocols that historical protests, such as those during the Civil Rights Movement, did not—including mask wearing and social distancing.
This monument seeks to commemorate those affected by racially motivated acts of violence and recognize those who safely rejected such hate. This monument also hopes to illuminate how, when, and why we confront injustice. After all, when faced with injustice, what kind of imprint would you like to leave?
