The city of Los Angeles now has several murals of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna Bryant, following their deaths in a helicopter crash in January. These murals have managed to escape damage amidst the protests for George Floyd that have been going on in the city for the last several days. Kobe’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, took to Instagram on June 1 to share her appreciation for the fact that the murals have gone ‘untouched.’
Vanessa Bryant posting on IG about Kobe& Gigi’s murals being untouched ❤️🥺 pic.twitter.com/SH9P1kVd8l
— ashley (@ashxxxley) June 2, 2020
Vanessa –who is now raising her and Kobe’s other three daughters, Natalie, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 11 months, on her own — posted various photos of Kobe murals from all over L.A. “Kobe and Gigi mural saved,” she captioned one post. On another, she wrote, “Untouched Kobe mural.” She also re-posted one fans picture of a mural with a caption that read, “They know Kobe is off limits.”
Of course, while Vanessa is thankful that her late husband and daughter continue to hold a special place in Los Angeles, she’s also in full support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and has been vocal about that on social media, as well. On May 31, she posted a photo of Kobe from 2014, where he’s wearing an ‘I Can’t Breathe’ shirt in reference to another black man, Eric Garner, being killed by a white police officer.
“Life is so unpredictable,” she captioned the post. “Life is too short. Let’s share and embrace the beautiful qualities and similarities we all share as people. Drive out hate. Teach respect and love for all at home and school. Spread LOVE. Fight for change — register to vote.” She concluded her message with the Black Lives Matter hashtag and a red heart emoji.
Vanessa’s post was meant to point out that so little has changed for the black community in the six years since Eric Garner’s death. Like Eric, George was also killed by a white police officer. The 46-year-old was arrested in Minneapolis on May 25, and when officer Derek Chauvin handcuffed him, he pinned him to the ground by the neck. Despite George insisting that he couldn’t breathe, Derek kept his knee held against George’s neck for more than eight minutes. Officer Chauvin was eventually arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.