Man leaves home in middle of night to clean graffiti after protest in Houston

HOUSTON, Texas — Brian Irving knew he had to do something one late Friday night when he watched the news and saw people use the George Floyd protests as an excuse to cause destruction in downtown Houston, Texas.

“I just took a shower. I told my wife, ‘I’m going to go down there to wipe off all that graffiti,’ and I got my pressure washer,” said Irving.

Irving spent hours cleaning buildings and poles. And while many of the protests in Houston have been peaceful and nondestructive since then, Irving has continued to go out and clean up graffiti around town.

Irving said, “If I can erase one graffiti, I’m making a difference.”

The truck driver spent time behind bars nearly two decades ago, and still keeps his prison ID in his wallet.

“It’s real old. It’s about to fall apart. I kept the ID since I’ve been out for almost 17 years. I keep this ID just to remind me where I came from,” Irving said.

He also takes out the ID to share his story with kids.

“Every time I see a kid doing something wrong, I always pull it out and I say, ‘You do not want this. You do not want to be a convicted felon. You need to make that change.”

Irving said he is inspired by Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, who opened his Gallery Furniture stores during Hurricane Harvey and helps the community in many other ways during the year.