George Floyd murals are being defaced and vandalized throughout the US
Weeks after George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, died in Minneapolis police custody, murals commemorating him are being vandalized throughout the U.S.
A mural of Floyd’s face and his dying words, “Please, I can’t breathe” was defaced in Santa Barbara this week with “All Lives Matter,” KEYT reported. A report of the incident has been filed by the city, according to the station.
Other murals, in Massachusetts, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina and California, have also been vandalized.
On June 4, the artists who painted a mural of Floyd in Long Beach, California, found someone had defaced their work, KABC-TV reported. Someone was caught on camera pouring blue paint over the picture of Floyd.
“It honestly makes you feel kind of gross to watch something like that,” Kenny McBride, one of the muralists, told the station. “It’s disturbing to think that in a city like Long Beach that is so well-known for its diversity that people like that live around here.”
A mural in Greensboro, North Carolina, was vandalized with blue spray paint, and nearby windows were painted with “white power,” WFMY reported.
A Floyd mural in Birmingham, Alabama, was defaced with an “X” painted over Floyd’s face on June 4, AL.com reported. Birmingham police said the owner of the salon where the mural is painted declined to press charges, the outlet reported.
“We would love the opportunity to talk with the person who did it and understand where they’re coming from and give them a platform for their voice to be heard,’’ Andrew Tynes, who works with mural artist Shane B., told AL.com. “What happened to George Floyd is awful and unforgivable. Everybody has a lot to say about it and I think dialogue is good.”
A mural painted in Stoneham, Massachusetts, was vandalized earlier in June with white paint, WBZ-TV reported.
“I’m bummed that somebody did that,” Esben Rey told the station. “I’ll be back and I’ll fix it and hopefully the new one will ride.”
A Floyd mural in Pensacola, Florida, was repainted after being defaced one day after it was painted, WEAR-TV reported. Artist Brandon Vessels told the station that he was “upset” about it being vandalized.
Floyd, 46, died while in police custody on May 25, and his death sparked an avalanche of protests across the nation. He died after now-fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, as three other officers didn’t intervene.
Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao were also fired and arrested, charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 4:26 PM with the headline "George Floyd murals are being defaced and vandalized throughout the US."