Artist hopes reactions to mural will spark change

As Black Lives Matter protests spread throughout the world, a 45-year-old Belizean artist hopes his art will inspire people to consider the big and complicated picture of racial injustice.

Cadex Herrera recently worked on a mural near Cup Foods in Minneapolis, where George Floyd took his final breath.

Herrera, along with two other artists, created the mural spanning 20 feet across and nearly 7 feet tall to honor Floyd at the site of the killing.

Herrera's work quickly turned into a central meeting place for people to show their respect to Floyd and express their outrage about police brutality. It became the backdrop of news conferences and memorials.

Herrera wanted to create a place where people could stop, reflect, think and come together.

"Murals are supposed to do that in a way. ... It gives you a sense of place, a sense of community, a sense of belonging," he said, adding, "the job of that piece is to move the viewer to have them emotionally react to it and through that reaction create change."

The mural has become a fundamental symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement, something Herrera did not expect.

"They're sort of representing the people who never got to be flowers ... those seeds never got to grow," Herrera said. "Part of the movement is to remember the names of people of color who have been killed by police officers. I wanted to make that a visual element of part of the mural and wanted to show that, you know, that there's support in the community."

Herrera described why his mural features many people with raised fists.

"The people ... don't have any sort of color or features so I wanted to make a statement," he said. "It's all of us, right? It's people, every sort of denomination, every race."

Ever since Herrera was able to hold a pencil, art has empowered him to express his feelings in ways words could not.

"[Artwork] really allows you to … get involved within yourself and also allows you to process information differently," he said.

Herrera frequently shares his most recent work about social injustice, immigration and the environment on social media. His Instagram account is @cadexherrera.

Herrera said he hopes artists of all kinds will deliver their unique messages.