Remember This Time

In June 2020, as Black Lives Matter protests filled Denver's streets, the city's walls and streets were also painted with images and messages of the movement. Denver commissioned a large Black Lives Matter street mural. Well-known Denver muralist Thomas "Detour" Evans painted a series of portraits of Black people killed at the hands of police. But a lot of that art was temporary; it's been painted over or has faded away. Artist Adri Norris and activist Lindsay Minter reflect on why that is and what that means.

The mural of Breonna Taylor by artists Thomas "Detour" Evans and Hiero Veiga can be found at 2845 Walnut Street in Denver.

We’ve collaborated with Apple Maps to create a guide to the murals and special places you’ve heard about on Off the Walls. It features a map of some of the coolest public art in Colorado, plus photos of the murals we talk about on the show. To check it out, go to apple.co/Off-The-Walls.

A mural on plywood covering the "sports castle" on Broadway. This mural and others are no longer there.

Lindsay Minter leads a protest aganst police brutality on April 17, 2021.

Artist Adri Norris, along with artist Pat Milbery, created large a Black Lives Matter street mural at Civic Center Park in June 2020. The mural is no longer there.

Artist Adri Norris, along with artist Pat Milbery, created large a Black Lives Matter street mural on at Civic Center Park in June 2020. The mural is no longer there.

Artist Adri Norris, along with artist Pat Milbery, created large a Black Lives Matter street mural at Civic Center Park in June 2020. The mural is no longer there.

Artists Detour and Hiero painted a mural of George Floyd on the side of a Ready Temporary Services buildng at High Street and Colfax Avenue. The mural is no longer there.

Detour and Heiro's mural of George Floyd, on East Colfax Avenue, was defaced twice after they painted it in June 2020. The mural is no longer there.

A mural of Breonna Taylor, by Hiero and Detour, near the intersection of 28th and Walnut Streets in Five Points.. Oct. 17, 2023.

A mural of Breonna Taylor, by Hiero and Detour, near the intersection of 28th and Walnut Streets in Five Points.. Oct. 17, 2023.

Hosts: Kibwe Cooper, Emily Williams
Editor: Jo Erickson
Written and reported by Kibwe Cooper
Mixed by Kibwe Cooper
Denverite editor: Obed Manuel
Additional editorial support: Kevin Beaty, Erin Jones, Rebekah Romberg, Luis Antonio Perez
Theme music by Kibwe Cooper. Additional music via Universal Production Music.
Artwork: Maria Juliana Pinzón
Photography: Kevin Beaty
Executive producer: Brad Turner, Kevin Dale
Thanks also to Hart Van Denburg, Jodi Gersh, Kyle Harris, Desiree Mathurin, Kim Nguyen, Clara Shelton, Rebecca Tauber, Isaac Vargas, Arielle Wilson.

This show was produced with support from PRX, and is made possible in part by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and a grant from the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation.

Off the Walls is a production of Denverite and Colorado Public Radio — part of the NPR Network.

Denverite.com