On June 18, 2020, Nick Lloyd painted the phrase "Black Lives Matter" in large bright yellow block letters on North Edison Street in Portland, Oregon's St. Johns neighborhood.
Inspired by Washington, D.C.'s Black Lives Matter Plaza, the 336-foot (102 m) mural spanned an entire block,[1] and had "detailed historic facts about the treatment of minorities in Portland" written in smaller text within individual letters.
[2] The following text appeared within the letter "B": 1800 – The Cowlitz people live nearby when the first Black visitor arrives in 1802.
A statement about when voters changed the Constitution of Oregon to eliminate the original ban on Black residents (2001) was written on one of the "T" letters, and another letter displayed the text "In 1988, PDX banks make only 9 mortgage loans in the district from Irvington to Woodlawn.
Lloyd did not seek permission to paint the mural, and city officials did not plan to remove the artwork, as of June 25.