LOS ANGELES — The City Council on Friday directed staff to explore the creation of a monument in the Silver Lake neighborhood to commemorate the lives of Black Americans who have been killed by law enforcement.

In a 12-0 vote, council members requested the Department of Cultural Affairs, Department of Water and Power and other agencies to report back in 30 days on the process and funding needed for a permanent art installation in the area surrounding the Silver Lake Reservoir. Council members Bob Blumenfield, Hugo Soto-Martinez and Traci Park were absent during the vote.

Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who introduced the motion alongside Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson on May 10, said she hopes to complete the project in partnership with the community and DWP, which owns the land where the monument would be established.

Raman, who represents the 4th District, which includes Silver Lake, noted that in response to the murder of George Floyd in 2020, community members gathered in Silver Lake to install a monument commemorating the lives of Black people killed by police violence.

“A striking visual display resulted — fabric woven into the 2.2 miles of fencing around the Silver Lake reservoir, spelling out the names of more than 100 unarmed Black individuals who were killed by law enforcement across the U.S.,” Raman said prior to the vote.

She added, “In many ways, we as a country seem to have moved on from that moment and moved on from that reckoning that we faced. But that community memorial ensured that the people who walked around that reservoir every day never forgot this issue and never forgot the challenge to do better.”

The councilwoman noted that, since then, the memorial fell into disrepair and recently was removed. She said she hopes the city can place a permanent art installation that “carries the spirit of the original community memorial.”