Houston residents honor George Floyd. Source: Anadolu Agency / Getty
On the second anniversary of his murder, Houston unveiled a statue of George Floyd in a park in his hometown.
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Dannette Davis, of Kay Davis Associates, donated $110,000 for the statue titled, “A Conversation with George.” The statue was created by sculptor Adrienne Rison-Isom who she says took months of research to learn about Floyd to bring the statue to life. The Floyd Family Foundation was also involved in the creation of this sculpture.
“I met with many of Floyd’s family and friends while creating this piece and everyone described him as having a playful, approachable temperament and human nature,” Isom said. “I wanted to represent that by sculpting him with a nonintimidating facial expression and easy-going body language.”
The statue is housed in Tom Bass Park surrounding nature and lakes. The facilitators decided that this place reflected his “peaceful demeanor as described by his family and friends.”
Floyd’s sculpture shows him seated at an outdoor table welcoming everyone of all races and ethnic backgrounds to have a seat with him. Davis hopes that visitors recognize the symbolism of Floyd being at an open table and looking approachable. His family describes him as a person who would “spark” conversation or friendship with anyone.
“We all witnessed the impact that George Floyd made on the world, but at the end of the day, he was a ‘regular guy’ with a few extraordinary talents,” Davis said. “He was an athlete and artist, but he was also a father, a son, and a brother…Just like all of us he was a multi-dimensional human trying to find his way in this world”.
George Floyd, 46, was killed on May 25, 2020, by former MinneapolisOfficer Derek Chauvin. His death caused a national uproar, with the impact still felt two years later.
“I think it’s important to focus on his humanity and ours, taking a break from the political messaging that typically follows the mentioning of his name. How do we make life better for the young people he cared about and mentored,” Davis explains. “This gift of life-size art should make you ponder your life choices and future.”
Many Houston leaders along with some of Floyd’s family members were expected to attend the unveiling of the sculpture at Tom Bass Regional Park III Community Center in Houston.
Watch the interview below with Dannette Davis who commissioned the piece as she speaks on her passion behind gifting the city a piece of history to honor the late Houstonian.
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