A small plane carrying a banner with the phrase, “They’re Going to Kill Me,” floated across the skies past the Statue of Liberty and over the Hudson River in New York on Saturday.
Similar banners embossed with the phrases “Please I Can’t Breathe,” “My Stomach Hurts,” “My Neck Hurts,” and “Everything Hurts” were also seen gliding across the nation in Detroit, Miami, Los Angeles, and New York respectively on the same day.
These were the final words uttered by George Floyd, who was killed by a cop from the Minneapolis Police Department on 25 May 2020. Floyd’s death spurred protests across the nation to call out the racial injustice in the country.
Upon viewing the viral video of Floyd’s final moments, Dallas-based artist Jammie Holmes took it upon himself to shed light on the issue through an aerial demonstration.
With financial support from the Library Street Collective, a gallery in Detroit representing him, the demonstration held up in the skies was set up within 48 hours. Holmes described his project as “an act of social conscience and protest” on his website.
