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Indianapolis-based artist Rebecca Robinson urged city residents to visit the downtown area's Black Lives Matter mural after it was defaced overnight between Saturday and Sunday. Robinson, who contributed to the installation alongside a group of other artists, said in a Facebook Live video recorded Sunday morning that she is worried the vandalism will persist further.
"All the artists, we got an email that somebody came down here, I guess in the middle of the night, to ruin the mural," Robinson said during the video, which showed the sprawling design splattered with white and gray paint.
"It's just so disappointing because everybody worked so hard," she continued in reference to the artistic collaboration. "Please, anybody that is here in Indianapolis, please come down here and take pictures. Please try to get pictures with it because you know, I just feel like it's going to get worse."
Even if they do vandalize again, Robinson said the person, or people, responsible for defacing the Indianapolis mural will not "stop us and our message," adding: "They can do whatever they want."
The mural, created amid a nationwide movement against police violence and racism, includes names and portraits of Indianapolis residents of color who died during interactions with law enforcement. It is one of many Black Lives Matter messages painted onto major roadways across the country in the aftermath of George Floyd's death in former Minneapolis police custody on May 25. His death sparked global demonstrations seeking justice and reform, which continue to take place more than two months later.
Newsweek reached out to Robinson and the Indianapolis police for comments, but did not receive replies in time for publication.
Black Lives Matter murals installed in other U.S. cities, like New York, Orlando and Kalamazoo, were also vandalized after their creation. The mural painted alongside New York City's Fifth Avenue, in front of the entrance to Trump Tower, was defaced numerous times since it was originally commissioned in early July. Police arrested 39-year-old Juliet Germanotta for a second time last week, after she was seen covering the mural's Black Lives Matter lettering with blue paint on camera, NBC New York reported.
Germanotta was one of three individuals arrested in mid-July, less than 10 days after Manhattan's mural was first painted, for committing a similar offense. The mural had already been vandalized less than one week prior. Around the same time, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio received a letter from pro-law enforcement groups Blue Lives Matter NYC and Stand Up for NYC, which asked for his approval to paint a mural of their own near police headquarters.
