SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Black Lives Matter sign in the Oak Park neighborhood will return after some repairs and updates, according to its creator.
Zach Trowbridge created and raised the sign as part of Project Say Their Names, an effort he started to compile and share names and stories of unarmed Black people killed by police. He created the sign shortly after George Floyd’s murder in May 2020; a history of Trowbridge’s sign can be read here.
The sign was located at McClatchy Park at the corner of 34th Street and 5th Avenue. It was removed for repairs and updates in 2023, Trowbridge said.
“I took the BLM sign back in a few weeks ago for repairs and updates, and it’s been an incredibly slow, challenging process with all the fine detail work,” Trowbridge wrote in a March 2023 Instagram post.
Some community members concerned about gentrification expressed to ABC10 they are worried the sign won't return.
“I understand the urgency of returning the sign quickly and appreciate patience,” Trowbridge wrote in a notice placed at the sign’s vacancy. “Since its creation, we have lost many more Black lives to police violence. It is with a heavy heart that I am updating the sign to include the names of additional lives lost.”
There is no set date for the project’s completion.
