right now, at this defining moment in america. there's so much on the line. ♪ >> abc news, my america, your america. our america. this is turning point. tonight the writing on the ball. >> what is our name? >> breonna taylor. >> backdrops of a racial reckoning in america. the message is as big as the artists. >> the work isupo minister to the people. they are supposed to be inspired and up lifted. >> the call to action, tonight, "word on the street," here now. >> good evening,joing murls mak statements across the country, too widespread and too big to

ignore. often with the faces of victims of racial injustice. how artists are using art as activism. ♪ >> we turn to police encounters that have turned deadly. the colorado governor has appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the death of 23-year-old elijah mcclain, and like others said those chilling words -- >> i can't breathe. >> please! ♪ the part that ravaged me the most, what he said, were kind words. he was kind to the people that were killing him. >> a portrait of 23-year-old elijah mcclain, playing his v a

violin. >> i have been constantly going, which is still nerve wracking, i'm not a doomsdayer. but i'm cautious. but then the protests start. >> black lives matter. >> you just blame protesters. >> hand up, don't shoot. >> everything in me was i don't want to get sick, but i need to be out there. i need to be in this, this is about me right now. >> george floyd! >> you have heard their names. >> say her name. >> breonna taylor. >>ice ce, now memorialized ifull colo. in the midst of a global pandemic, clashing with the modern day civil rights movement. >> hands up! don't shoot! >> artists across the country are matching the voice on of a movement with murals.

the words black lives matter pan -- painted up and down the streets. >> they have become contagious in a certain way. >> this one is in downtown manhattan. the word lives designed by local artist sofia dawson. what type of impact is it for people to see art like yours having a similar message in other places in the country. >> i looked at what they did in seattle and harlem. i was like, oh, my god, it's like a domino affect, a ripple affect happening, right? i think it's for the communities, i feel like they feel like their voices are being heard. that they are being seen for the first time. >> today,ew rsey, by sofia's pid every mother. she painted of 2016, after the police killings of alton sterling.

>> there's nobody who is excluded when you are dealing with public art. >> what has this moment meant to you? >> how it happened and there was no pandemic or quarantine, the people would not have time to be on the streets and so the purpose of collar bars is to really literally be the tv screen that used to say programming is done for today and you were stuck with this background until tv came back on. and so, it feels like the world stood still in that way for the first time. >> you talk about the color bars but you painted this in 2016. >> yeah, i know. >> you knew something was going to happen? >> i like that the work is still relevant, but it also hurts that the work is relate are haven-- relevant at the same time. >> what is it about making art this big that it makes a big impact and gets a reaction? >> working big, it's so in your face, you cannot miss it. you do not have to be privileged enough to go to a museum or

gallery. so essentially public art is bringing art to the people. >> paintings like sofia's follow a long history of street art that mirrors the struggles of society, whitney museum director said with the pandemic and the racial reckoning, everyone has a voice. >> this pandemic has given everyone their, that sense of being their own super hero. like, we are doing it. we all are doing it. i think everyone has really started to see that they have, you know, we have the answers in ourselves and that's a lot of artists i think who have known that for a long time. >> artists in the united states have been chronicling the now on walls for decades. >> now we call it street art, i e the ones i think of is d sh f the mexican muralists, and i'm thinking in the hiv-aids crisis, artists like keith herring.

they had an impact on the public's attention to that crisis, which of course was under recognized and ignored. >> what is beautiful about art and what we are seeing today, people are appreciating it in a very different way than they have before. what we are seeing are these conversations and they are making people want to act. >> this is an amazing piece. >> jessica runs the winwood walls in miami. america's mecca for murals and big art. said it's a sign of what is to come. >> we will have an interesting time in the next few months with our elections and i think you will see an interesting amount of art that is surrounding the se y vote. i think artists today are being seen in a leadership role unlike they have ever been seen before. >> one of those artists looking to push the conversation in to voting booths this november, los

angeles's tristan eden. >> angela davis has a beautiful history of activism and fighting for the freedom of back people in the country. her story should be told and we have an election coming up so i painted vote around her with her shouting it. >> back in june, tristan made local headlines after this mural of mlk he created was defaced. >> i decided to paint martin luther king as a sign of solidarity, and that was met with blow-back. so my mural was tagged with racist slurs. >> but tristan was not going to allow that to detract from his message. it's easier to paint martin luther king than malcolm-x, because he can be a divisive figure. so i thought, well, if they do that, i will paint again. if somebody paints over it, you paint over it again, and you go

to wore with each other tive es is something that every street artist knows. on the day of our interview with vince, his mural had also been tagged. >> what happened? >> a lot of times if you leave too much space that doesn't look like it's occupied, somebody is going to come by and say, well, there's enough room for me right here. >> what is your plan to cover this up? >> oh. i know now. i didn't until right this second. >> right this second. >> right here. >> right this second. one thing that he kept saying repeatedly was i'm sorry. i'm sorry. i'm sorry. i am sorry. >> while t nhortage of walls, there's been no shortage of names and faces to paint. vince said that the moment as been bitter sweet. >> talk to me about really what this calling has been to you as an artist and as a black man? >> never in my years of living

on this planetbe avatonow,pl ar. >> as the summer comes to a close, the season of change continues. these artists continue to honor the lives lost. most recently an icon. the notorious. and across the country, they are inspired, to lift the voices of those who are tired and sick, of being sick and tired. >> transformation is on the horizon and we are kind of, there's an awakening where people are awakening, it makes sense that artists are at the vanguard of that. >> the world of graffiti is the largest secret society on the planet. we have access to the public space and i expect to see huge

movement and a lot of noise from this world of people in the next few months. >> you call yourself a vessel every time i talk to you. >> the work is supposed to minister to people, people should come in front of the painting and if they are hurting because they lost a family member or hurting because of what is happening to the community. they are supposed to be inspired, they are supposed to be up lifted. >> do you feel a responsibility to be out there as this is all happening kind of painting the story on the walls? >> mlk, he didn't volunteer for leader ohe rightvement. but whenhehim, and said, we want you to do this. i feel the same kind of way, it was like, i didn't ask for it, but, i feel like i do have a voice. so, the art opened the door for this conversation. >> and coming up, say her name,

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painter, drawing inspiration from this moment of racial strife in america, and creating stunning images in minutes. here again is nightline on how this artist is commemoratining breonna taylor. ♪ ♪ >> we are here, on a houston street emblazened with the words black towns matter. >> so when you hold it, it will just feel, like, like this. you see what i mean? >> this artist is getting ready to memorialize a young victim of police violence. >> you are trying to make a perfect circle. >> he is a painter, the act of making art as important as the artists. >> i feel like if you have a gift, a gift that can change the world, you should just broadcast

it. i'm not painting still, i'm painting with different methods of painting to create attention from the audience. >> today, his subject is breonna taylor, the 26-year-old emt who was killed by police in louisville, kentucky. >> i hope breonna taylor family could find justice, that's what i'm hoping for. >> hill has become a creative force in the black lives matter movement. >> the best way to change this is to keep painting what is happening in this society. >> a master in the art of speed painting, hills has immortalized many in the black community. nipsey hustle, chadwick boseman. and aretha franklin. but after george floyd was killed, and ignited protests,

his work took on a new urgency, using a paint brush as a megaphone for reform. he grew up in rwanda, and now he calls houston home. >> i have been here for over ten years. that makes me a houstonian i feel like, that's the connection i have. >> houston is also where george employed was raised in a public housing project in the predominantly black third ward. floyd's funeral took place in his hometown. >> his life mattered, all of our lives matter. black lives matter. his death will not be in vein, what is his name? >> george floyd. >> the family asked hills to paint floyd's portrait at the service. >> i'm glad the family gave me an opportunity to be part of the historical moment. that was something that needed to be shown to the world, so we can find change in what is happening in america. >> three months after floyd's funeral, hills is still using

his art to help fightin justice. >> if we don't keep painting and show casing what is happening, there will be no change. >> we engage the artist to engage the moment of racial reckoning. >> everyone wants change. everyone wants peace. that's the reason why we paint, that's why we have black lives matter painted all over the street right now. you know, we are just trying to show case that you know we all are one, we should unite, we should love each other. you know, minimize hate. >> this portrait of breonna taylor which hills intends to donate is a message of hope and unity. differen pans is we ha all e fft i wanted to showcase that everyone wants to, you can either be, black, white, asian, hispanic. we all want to unite.

and look for justice for breonna taylor. >> she was a spark of light. >> to know her is to love her. she has always been full of life and she has always been strong and just powerful. >> that strength, now expressed in the portrait. >> i hope they find justice and i hope they find peace. what happens to their daughter it's so painful. >> sending a message loud enough for the world to hear. >> our thanks to the team. up next the powerful message behind this mural.

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♪ ♪ and finally tonight the work of art made by and for women of color. ending our show is "nightline."

♪ ♪ ♪ here in new york city's lower east side, one mural illustrating the faces of. professional be painters, teaching novices, proving that anyone can make something beautiful. it's a nonprofit that works with immigrant young girls that have suffered from gender based violence. and this painting represents all of the faces of the girls that t tproject. >> daniel is an artist and women's rights activist that works with the nonprofit. >> as an artist, you want to county contribute, you want to respond, you want to express yourself, and i feelik dng street art and gives the a artist a voice to speak out and it's our responsibility as a public artist to put the message of the people and the streets

up. ♪ that's "nightline" for tonight, you can watch our full episodes on hulu, thanks for staying up with us, goodnight, america.