A giant Black Lives Matter mural is now on the streets of downtown Montreal

On July 14, a giant #BlackLivesMatter mural was painted on Sainte-Catherine Street East between Saint-Andre Street and Saint-Hubert Street in the Gay Village, spanning the total of one whole city block. The creation of the mural had been announced by the City of Montreal through Mayor Valerie Plante's Twitter feed.

"A giant (artistic) work takes shape on Sainte-Catherine," the mayor wrote, noting that her administration was "proud to support this initiative" from Gala Dynastie, an annual awards ceremony celebrating members of the Black community's culture, entertainment, media and sports industries, as well as the art collective Never Was Average whose work is based around providing spaces for POC.

The message was written in French—"La Vie des Noir.e.s Compte"—in both the masculine and feminine genders, with the last word being colored in rainbows as an acknowledgement of members of the Black LGBTQ+ community.

With the creation of this street mural, Montreal joins many more cities around the world that have been adorning their streets with the same message, particularly in the United States where the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers occurred.

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