this is "nightline." >> tonight, word on the streets. >> say her name! >> breonna taylor! >> powerful portraits of the fallen. backdrops of the racial reckoning in america. the message big as the art itself. >> it's supposed to be inspiring, it's supposed to be uplifting. looking inward. >> i've lost so much mental heaviness. >> sharing his message of minimalism and meditation. >> wanting always interrupts being. >> how his spiritual journey is inspiring others to find inner healing. and the young heroine spreading grace and gratitude this thanksgiving for hundreds of families.

scrubbing still tak. now there's powerwash dish spray it's the faster way to clean as you go just spray, wipe and rinse it cleans grease five times faster dawn powerwash. spray, wipe, rinse.

♪ thanks for joining us on this thanksgiving. tonight, murals making statements across the country. too widespread and too vibrant to be ignored. often showcases the faces of victims of racial injustice. here's "nightline's" ashan singh

of 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, who was stopped by police, and like george floyd and so many others, said those chilling words -- >> i can't breathe! >> 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. >> reporter: a portrait of 23-year-old elijah mcclain playing his violin. it's one of the several murals new york artist vince ballantine has designed since the world shut down in march. >> i've been constantly going. which is still a little

nerve-racking. i'm not a doomsdayer, but i am cautious. then the protests start. >> black lives matter! >> hands up, don't shoot! >> everything in me was like, i don't want to get sick, but -- i need to be out there. you know? i need to be in this. this is -- this is about me right now. >> george floyd! >> say her name! >> breonna taylor! >> reporter: you know their faces, victims of police violence. memorialized in full color and larger than life. in the midst of a global pandemic, clashing with a modern-day civil rights movement -- >> hands up, don't shoot! >> reporter: artists across the country using spray cans and paint rollers to match the voices of a movement with visuals, massive visuals. and they refuse to be ignored. the words black lives matter painted up and down streets across towns and cities throughout the country. >> we've seen this kind of

almost proliferation of these black lives matter murals become kind of contagious in a certain way. >> reporter: this one is in downtown manhattan. designed by local artist sofia dawson. >> what impact is that driving, for people to see art like yours having a similar message in smaller towns around the country? >> until i started looking at what they did in seattle in harlem, i was like, oh my god, this is really -- it's kind of like a domino effect, a ripple effect happening, right? i think it's -- for the communities i feel like they feel their voices are being heard that they're being seen for the first time. >> reporter: today we're in newark, new jersey. by sofia's piece titled "every mother" featuring 13 mothers affected by gun violence in a television-inspired mural painted in the fall of 2016 after the police killings of alton sterling and philando castille. >> there's basically nobody excluded when you're dealing with public art. >> what does this moment mean to

you? >> had this happened and there was no pandemic or quarantine, people would not have time to be on the streets. my preference of color bars is to 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. it feels like the world stood still in that way for the first time. >> you talk about these 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 also hurts that the work is still relevant, at the same time. >> what is it about having art on a wall, having art so big, that makes it more impactful, gets those type of reactions? >> oh, god. working big is so, like -- it's so in your face. you can't miss it. you don't have to be privileged enough to have the luxury of going to a museum or going to a gallery. and so essentially, public art murals is bringing art to the people. >> reporter: paintings like

sofia's follow a long history of street art that mirrors the struggles of society. whitney museum assistant curator rajeko hartley says with a pandemic and racial reckoning, everyone has a voice. >> this pandemic has really given everyone their -- that sense of being their own superhero. like, we're 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 there's a lot of artists, i think, who have known that for a longtime. >> reporter: artists in the united states have been chronicling the now on walls for decades. >> now we call it street art. but i think in the past we've had kind of different names for it. certainly kind of one of the first things that i think of is the mexican muralists of the 1920s. i'm also thinking about during the hiv/aids crisis in the united states, artists like keith hairing. i think they had a real impact on the public's attention to that crisis, which had been, of course, underrecognized,

ignored. >> what is beautiful about art, what we're seeing today, people are appreciating it in a very different way than they have before. what we're seeing are these conversations, and they're making people want to act. >> this is an amazing piece. >> reporter: curator jessica goldman strebnik who runs america's mecca for murals and big art says this is just a sign of what's to come. >> i think artists today are being seen in a leadership role unlike they've ever been seen before. street art adds to the global dialogue. we are having a global dialogue. so i think that art has this ability to bring hope, to bring the topics that are really hard to discuss to the forefront. >> reporter: one of those artists looking to push the conversation, los angeles' tristan eaton. >> angela davis has a beautiful

history of protest and activism in fighting for the freedom of black people in this country. her story should be told and shouted from the rooftops. so i painted "vote" with her shouting it. >> reporter: back in june, tristan made local headlines after this mural of mlk he created was defaced. >> decided to paint martin luther king as a sign of solidarity. and that was met with some blowback. my mural was tagged with racist slurs. >> reporter: tristan wasn't about to let that detract from his message. >> it's easier to paint a mural of martin luther king than malcolm x, because malcolm x can be a divisive figure. i realized the only people who find him divisive are people i shouldn't listen to. if they paint it, we'll paint it again. somebody paints over it, you paint over it again, you go to war with each other and create a battle. >> reporter: turns out the

disrespect is something every street artist knows. on the day of our interview with vince, his mural had also been tagged. >> so what happened? >> a lot of times when you're doing your street art and your murals, if you leave too much space that doesn't look like it's occupied, somebody's going to come by and say, there's enough room for me right here. >> so what's your plan to actually cover this up? >> oh -- i know now. i didn't until right this second. >> right this second? >> right this second. >> one thing he kept saying repeatedly was "i'm sorry." i'm sorry, i'm sorry. >> reporter: while there's been no shortage of walls, there's also been no shortage of names and faces to paint. vince says the moment's been bittersweet. >> 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 planet has it been advantageous to be a black

painter. ever. it's kind of like i'm a commodity now. people are now responding to my work like they never have before. >> reporter: as 2020 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're inspired to let the voices of those who are tired and sick of being sick and tired. >> transformation is on the horizon. there's an awakening where people are really awakening. it makes sense that artists are the vanguard of that because they're already attentive and attuned to the possibilities for the future. >> the world of graffiti is probably the largest secret society on the planet. our collective voices are extremely powerful. 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 are supposed to come in front of the painting, and if they are hurting because they've lost a member, if they are hurting because of what's happening to the community, they're supposed to be inspired, they're supposed to be uplifted. >> 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 the job. he didn't want to say, i'm the leader of the civil rights movement. but when they came to him and said, we want you to do this, i feel the same kind of way. it's 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. >> our thanks to ashen. coming up next, inhaling, exhaling. how to achieve inner peace with

young pueblo. the first fda-approved medication of its kind, tremfya® can help adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis uncover clearer skin that can last. most patients who saw 90% clearer skin at 28 weeks stayed clearer through 48 weeks. in another study, the majority of tremfya® patients saw 90% clearer skin at 3 years. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. uncover clearer skin that can last. janssen can help you explore cost support options. so dad bought puffs plus lotion, blows. and rescued his nose. with up to 50% more lotion puffs bring soothing softness and relief. a nose in need deserves puffs indeed.

unlike ordinary memory want supplements-ter? neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference. sofi made it so easy to pay off my student loan debt. ♪ they were able to give me a personal loan so i could pay off all of my credit cards. i got my mortgage through sofi and the whole process was so easy. ♪ choosing sofi was literally one of the best decisions i could have ever made because it gave me peace of mind. ♪

♪ if i could, baby i'd b♪ how can i, when you won't take it from me. ♪ ♪ you can go your own way. xfinity mobile's fast nationwide 5g network meets the first iphone with 5g. get the new iphone 12 on xfinity mobile. and right now, get $250 off. learn more at an xfinity store today. about the covid-19 virus. it's real. it's dangerous. and we do know how to keep you and your loved ones safe. wear a mask. wash your hands. stay six feet apart. we can do this. if we do it together.

in a world racked with stress and uncertainty, one man's path toward inner peace. young pueblo. the young writer, speaker, and meditator. his words inspiring so many to go on their own spiritual journeys. first, he says, you have to look within. here's abc's dan harris. >> observe, accept, release, transform. do not be afraid of slow moments. wanting always interrupts being. ask yourself, is this pain from

change or is it from my inability to let go? my name is diego perez and i go by "young pueblo." i think most people get so comfortable with the idea of stress and anxiety and general mental tension that they see it as a regular part of their life. we don't realize that we could actually be a lot more peaceful, a lot happier, a lot freer. >> reporter: diego perez, aka young pueblo, is using a medium critics say induces envy and anxiety to encourage inner peace. >> so many more are acknowledging and realizing that, i can't buy my way to happiness, i can't have another person consistently make me happy. it's something that i need to cultivate from within myself. >> reporter: more than 1 million people agree, following his instagram account filled with perfectly symmetric call clean typeface that reflects the balance and simplicity of young

pueblo's life. >> i focused in on minimalism because i know that we live in a really fast-pace the world. i have a split-second to be able to engage with them. >> so i'm going to have a short post on your emotional history, impacts your daily behavior, letting go of these old patterns lets you think and act in new ways. once i have the post, i have this simple app called cocreator, and share. >> how many likes does it have now? >> it has 457 in two minutes. >> wow. >> reporter: young pueblo, who has published his poetry in his book "inward," is connecting with people from all walks of life. >> i'm a latinx man but i don't write about latinx issues. i focus about what's happening personally inside of your mind. i think that's very universal, because even though we may have very different histories, at the end of the day we're still struggling with the same things.

>> hi, welcome, how are you today? >> reporter: he's now taking his words beyond instagram and into the real world. last year at sacred space meditation center in miami, hundreds of people came out to hear him speak. >> he puts his heart on his sleeve and really helps people to the best of his ability. >> it's like he knows everything that i've been thinking and feeling. >> i think of his book as like a bible, a great reminder to let you know that you are where you need to be. >> i'm going to switch over and talk a little bit about self-love. >> reporter: his message, healing and transformation are possible. >> what arises is love. it's compassion. it's mental clarity. >> allow yourself to transform as many times as you need to be fully happy and free. >> reporter: but finding happiness within himself was a long journey. born in ecuador, he and his family moved to the u.s. for a better life. >> we moved to boston. i grew up there. and it was a struggle. we were very, very poor.

and my mother worked cleaning houses. my father worked in a supermarket. there were absolutely no luxuries. there was a lot of tension in my house that was directly coming from living in poverty in the united states. >> reporter: young pueblo says he struggled emotionally but didn't have a way to deal with his pain. >> considering my ecuadoran background, the whole world of medita meditating, of being in touch with your emotions, of openly considering difficult situations as a family, this was all very new. when i went off into college, these sort of issues inside of me that i had never dealt with, this anxiety and this sadness, just became bigger and stronger and stronger. i started abusing drugs. just straining my relationships and definitely straining the relationship that i had with myself. it all reached a breaking point when one night i felt like i was dying, like i was having a heart attack. and from that moment i picked myself back up, i threw away the drugs, and i started really slowly walking into this whole

world of personal transformation. >> reporter: his meditation practice keeping him grounded, living in new york city where he's constantly inundated with noise and chaos of city life. >> what would you say to people about how you can stay calm and focused in the midst of it all? >> i think it's so valuable to pick up a technique. even if meditation isn't particularly your thing, you can do some sort of practice that can bring you back into what's happening inside of you. >> and there's so many different techniques out there -- >> reporter: back at his event in miami, it's clear his message is resonating. >> this is going to be one of the first times where still people will keep trying to change the world in so many different ways -- >> reporter: countless stories of transformation. >> i was going through a lot of heartbreak and just difficult situations in my life. it was one of those books that i needed at the time. >> in a short amount of time i've been following him, very

inspiring, very healing. >> it's really helped me through a lot of dark times. self-love and a divorce. i've always felt like his words have helped keep me hopeful and uplifted my spirit. >> everybody here is on a completely different path, but it resonates with all of us somehow, miraculously. >> i really hope that people take away the idea that you can actually heal yourself, you can actually let go. you can live in a new way. that you can have healthy relationships. that you can really cultivate self-love without being narcissistic, but really doing what you need to do to have a healthy and happy life. >> our thanks to dan. up next, how one young woman is feeding families, body and soul. ♪ alexa, tell roomba to vacuum in front of the couch. experience clean in a whole new way. now roomba offers you personalized cleaning suggestions and vacuums

exactly where you need it. by getting to know you and your home, roomba makes cleaning easier than ever before. so say goodbye to cleaning and hello to clean. hey google, tell roomba to vacuum the dining room table. roomba and the irobot home app. only from irobot. (groans) hmph... (food grunting menacingly) when the food you love doesn't love you back, stay smooth and fight heartburn fast with tums smoothies. ♪ tum tum-tum tum tums scrub less with dawn ultra like a workout? it's superior grease-cleaning formula gets to work faster, making easy work of tough messes dawn takes care of tough grease, wherever it shows up. scrub less, save more...with dawn

shh! i took mucinex dm for mye phlegmy cough. what about rob's dry cough? works on that too, and lasts 12 hours. 12 hours?! who studies that long? mucinex dm relieves wet and dry coughs. iwith vicks sinex saline nasal cmist.tion for drug free relief that works fast. vicks sinex. instantly clear everday congestion.

welcome to 15 days of saving up to $500 on fast, to reliable internet and... mobile with nationwide 5g on the most reliable network. welcome to family-connecting, holiday-shopping, black friday awesome. because, for a limited time, when you get xfinity internet and mobile together... ...you can get a $200 prepaid card... ...and up to $300 off select mobile phones... ...for up to $500 in savings. this sale won't last, so click, call, or visit a store today!

♪ finally tonight, giving thanks by giving back this holiday. 9-year-old reese grandeli of mooresville, north carolina, going all out to help her neighbors. writing a letter to friends and

family asking for donations to her local food bank. so many responded. reese raising more than $2,000. enough to buy 176 turkeys, 35 hams, 48 boxes of stuffing. >> be thankful for what you have. and always treat others how you want to be treated. >> determined to make a difference. that's "nightline" tonight. we'll see you right back here tomorrow at the same time. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america. happy thanksgiving.