BATTLE CREEK, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Tuesday, WOOD TV 8 reported that the Black Lives Matter (BLM) mural in Battle Creek was vandalized with coats of white paint.
WOOD TV 8 reported that the murals sit at East Riverside Drive near East Dickman Road at an apartment building that had previously been ravaged by a fire.
According to Color the Creek, the organization behind the mural, the vandalism took place sometime over the weekend.
“You said don’t break windows. So we painted a wall. You said don’t loot. So we painted a wall. You said don’t block streets. So we painted a wall. It’s clear now you really didn’t want us using our voices at all,” Color the Creek officials wrote in a Facebook post.
However, the mural has since been restored due to the work of volunteers.
“After hours of hard work and elbow grease, the wall is no longer erased and our murals are showing through again. However, it will not be perfect,” officials added. “We’ve had a lot of questions about ways to donate…We can use the funds to have these amazing artists come restore their work the way it deserves and continue our mural programming in support of Black Lives.”
As a result, organizers have started a GoFundMe campaign for funds, though the group is also accepting art supplies. As of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night, the campaign had already reached over $4,400 of its $5,000 goal.
The donation campaign can be viewed at this link.
This comes after a similar incident in Kalamazoo in which the BLM mural on Rose Street downtown was also vandalized with white paint.
That mural has also been restored.
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