Capitol Hill Black Lives Matter Mural Vandalized
The fist in one of the ‘A’s’ of the Black Lives Matter mural in Seattle’s Capitol Hill vandalized with a red X.
By Staff Reports
The Black Lives Matter mural on East Pine in Seattle’s Capitol Hill was found vandalized with paint and markings the morning of October 9.
Days after the Vivid Matter Collective officially completed the annual mural repainting on September 27, a portion of the mural was hit with “a paint tar mixture,” according to co-founder of Vivid Matter Collective Takiyah Ward. “We were thinking up until this point, that maybe somebody had an episode in the park or something like that,” she said. “It's not even something that we would even really think would be malicious at that point.”
On the morning of October 9, the artists discovered that the vandalism had progressed to a point of what Ward deemed as “malicious.” The faces of the Black women on the ‘L’ were blacked out and the fist in one of the ‘A’s’ was crossed out in red.
Additionally, white marks defaced the entire mural. “Each letter has a pretty substantial splatter of white paint and was then subsequently ran through with either a bike or a scooter, thus spreading the paint all over the mural,” Ward said.
For Ward, the vandalism was emotional. “It’s hard to see your work be defaced in this way. As an artist, it's…very sensitive for us to have to witness these types of things happen,” she said, expressing gratitude for the community at Vivid Matter Collective for supporting each other.
In a statement released to Capitol Hill Seattle Blog from SDOT, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is working closely with Vivid Matter Collective to restore the artwork as soon as possible. “The artists were onsite today to assess the damage, and our crews are coordinating cleanup efforts that will include hydro-blasting and pressure washing to remove the paint,” the SDOT statement said. Additionally, Ward and her collective are committed to repairing the mural, but they call on the community to protect and respect it.
The Black Lives Matter mural has been a landmark of the Emerald City since its creation during the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP) zone in 2020. The mural was created in 48 hours as an act of protest after the murder of George Floyd. Without sanction from the city, the artists took on the risk themselves, using their own materials and putting their health and safety on the line with the mission to keep the Black Lives Matter movement alive and inspire connection among people.
VIDEO: Converge Media captured the 5th Annual Mural Touchup last month. (Converge Media Presents)
Despite the vandalism, Ward and the Collective are committed to restoring the mural once again. “You always kind of anticipate these things taking place, but to have it actually happen is definitely a huge blow,” she said. “But there's plenty of paint for us to be able to continue to spread that message and continue the movement.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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