Hasan told The Oregonian,  his inspiration behind the artwork saying that the bullet, much like a slave ship, is a “vessel of trauma for Black people.” “We really wanted to get at the core of what we think the issue is, and that is self-hate and the environment that kind of manifested that self-hate, which I believe is white supremacy and decisions that were made back in time that created a cycle and a perpetuation of violence that we’re still seeing today,” he added.

“It is my intention to remind the Black minds inside these Black bodies that they may think that these bullets fly because someone snitched or even killed a love one, but I am suggesting that this, not the reason you’re shooting.” Hasan says the real reason is “a symptom of the environment you find yourself in.”

S. Renee Mitchell, a former The Oregonian, played a role in the billboard’s creation. Mitchell covered the effects of racial trauma and is the brainchild behind the national award-winning youth-development organization called I Am M.O.R.E. (Making Ourselves Resilient Everyday).

Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that Portland saw “at last 18 gun homicides and 245 shootings in 2021 alone,” noting that the rate “would easily break decades of records.” As of May 10, 2021, that number has gone up to 22 gun-related deaths and 370 shootings. There have been attempts to curb the issue. Lawmakers proposed releasing $4.9 million in getting resources needed to combat the problem. Commissioners Carmen Rubio, Mingus Mapps, and Dan Ryan requested the city allocate $3.5 million of that immediately to groups that are “working with the communities impacted by gun violence and have established partnership with the city.”

Mitchell said, “These billboards are directed to the Black community because we cannot depend on folks outside of our community to solve issues.” She added, “This requires an internal shift … in order to understand why we’re participating in a system that was designed to work against us.”