Black Lives Matter Mural Defaced In Front of Trump Tower
Photo Courtesy of John Minchillo/AP
On Monday, an unidentified man defaced the street-long Black Lives Matter mural located in front of Trump Tower on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue.
The NYC Department of Transportation handled the repair with immediate action, but the man is still facing criminal charges. On Tuesday the NYPD tweeted out to the public, asking for any tips that would help them recognize the man.
The mural, painted on July 9, is strategically placed in front of the Trump Tower, considering statements Trump made about NYC Mayor de Blasio and his plans with the painting. Democratic Mayor de Blasio hasn’t had good relations with President Trump since the beginning of the pandemic, due to their differing opinions on what should be done. However, with the spark of the Black Lives Matter movement and the call for change, Trump condemned Mayor de Blasio on his plans.
“NYC is cutting police $’s by ONE BILLION DOLLARS, and yet the @NYCMayor is going to paint a big expensive, yellow Black Lives Matter sign on Fifth Avenue, denigrating this luxury Avenue,” Trump tweeted on July 1.
Mayor de Blasio stood firm in his support behind the movement while Trump referred to it as a “symbol of hate”. Now almost a week later, it was vandalized. NYC is amongst cities across the country that have murals dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement.
These cities are showing their support through paintings with the objective of grabbing the attention of pedestrians with art that expresses a call for equality. Nonetheless, protestors and activists are still calling for justice behind the murders that reignited the movement.
“It’s nice to see cities marking their streets with cool symbols for the movement, but initially all we asked for was justice for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor,” said 22-year-old Darren Williams.