A Black Lives Matter mural was defaced and painted over to read “All Lives Matter” in a village near Chicago this week, according to officials and a new report.
The mural, painted two weeks ago in Oak Park, Illinois, was vandalized overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, village officials said.
Portions of the mural were covered up so that it read “All Lives Matter,” according to the Chicago Tribune.
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The graffiti was largely cleaned off by 10 a.m. Wednesday, but local officials and artists who created the mural said they will discuss whether additional work is needed to fully restore it, the outlet reported.
The mural was the idea of Cullen Benson, a graduate of the local Oak Park and River Forest High School.
The “Black Lives Matter” message is nearly 100 feet wide, according to the paper. Work began on June 24 and the project was completed in less than two days, Benson told the outlet.
The mural nods to the colors of the LGBTQ+ pride flag, as well as navy blue and orange, the high school’s colors, according to the report.
Village officials called the mural “a testament to community acknowledgment of the Black Lives Matter movement that has focused public attention on the inequities and systemic racism that have such a negative impact on people of color.”
They say Oak Park police have gathered evidence they hope will help identify the vandals.
The incident comes days after a California duo defaced a Black Lives Matter mural outside a courthouse in Martinez.
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Nichole Anderson, 42, and David Nelson, 53, were charged with vandalism, violation of civil rights and possession of tools to commit vandalism of graffiti.
