About The Archive
MTM is the archive. BLACC is the work.
As the Black Liberation Archiving and Conservation Center (BLACC) was being founded, we made a key realization: Memorialize The Movement is not the organization, it is the archive and BLACC is the work.
Memorialize The Movement (MTM) was created in response to the murder of George Floyd and the protest plywood murals created during the Minneapolis Uprising. As the murals began to disappear when businesses reopened their storefronts, Leesa had the foresight to collect them for future preservation. Over the last six years, we have collected over 1,000 panels from Minneapolis, St Paul, and surrounding area, saving these murals from being lost, stolen, or extracted from our community.
Rooted in relationships with artists and community members, MTM emerged outside of traditional institutional frameworks. Its work centers not only the physical preservation of murals, but also their continued activation through exhibitions, public programming, and community engagement.
In 2025, Memorialize the Movement expanded its mission and transitioned to the Black Liberation Archiving and Conservation Center (BLACC). This shift reflects a broader organizational focus on Black memory work, protest archiving, and the development of community-centered frameworks for preservation beyond the initial mural collection. The name “Memorialize the Movement” was retained as the title of the mural archive, preserving its original identity while situating it within a broader context of Black memory work.