Brooklyn Center Daunte Wright Memorial Construction Complete
More than two years after the death of Daunte Wright at the hands of police, a permanent memorial now stands at the intersection of 63rd Avenue North and Kathrene Drive in Brooklyn Center.
After months of work, the memorial is complete and its designers got a chance to see it in person Wednesday morning.
The design team included two advanced apprentices at Juxtaposition Arts, a youth-staffed design center in Minneapolis. Harmonee Harrison and Sophie Port, designers who visited the memorial, come from the cities of Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center .
Harrison and Port said they collaborated with the Wright family and their team of artists to create the memorial. A fist memorial that previously sat at the intersection inspired this one.
Harrison and Port look at the completed memorial.
A Symbol of Change
The new memorial features a metal portrait of Wright. Looking closer, the detailing in his hair is symbolic.
“Inside of his hair incorporates four different symbols,” Harrison said. “The infinity sign, the 23, the Black Power first and his crown. Each symbol is something that represents Daunte and the Black Power movement in general.”
The memorial also features a placard with his photo, death certificate and a short message: “On April 11, 2021, Daunte Wright was shot by law enforcement during a traffic stop. He died at the corner of 63rd Ave. N. and Kathrene Dr. in Brooklyn Center. He was 20 years old. He was a son, a grandson, a brother, and uncle, a father, and a friend. Say his name… DAUNTE WRIGHT.”
The memorial sits at the corner of 63rd and Kathrene, the location Wright was shot and killed in April 2021.
The memorial also features a flower planter decorated in those symbols. It also contains a place for people to leave tributes.
Harrison said she hopes when people see the memorial, they understand Wright’s story. Port agreed.
“I hope that this could be the start to change, and I hope that it brings awareness to people that there is a problem and it needs to be fixed,” Port said. “I hope that it does not take us having to build more and more memorials for people to understand the issue that we are facing.”
The artists say it was amazing and rewarding to see their work come to life.
The city has yet to hold its official unveiling.
