Renowned Black Panther Mural In Crenshaw Defaced With Swastikas

For the people in the back who think racism is dead, a renowned African American mural in Crenshaw, Calif., was vandalized earlier this week, with four swastikas painted over the faces of female Black Panther members. According to the San Diego Tribune, the vandalism was discovered on Thursday morning with Los Angeles police taking a report of the incident just before noon. The mural, titled “Our Mighty Contribution,” is located near the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and 48th Street and shows several African American icons, including Martin Luther King Jr, Harriet Tubman, and several members of the Black Panthers holding guns. The incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime, and officers are looking for witnesses and to see if there is any surveillance footage available.

Vandals deface Black Panther mural on Crenshaw Blvd. in #SouthLA with swastikas. https://t.co/UH3NXO4TkF

— Jasmyne Cannick (@Jasmyne) November 29, 2018

There are currently no suspects in custody. The damage has since been cleaned off by artist Enkone, who helped create the mural. “People just have always had a lot of respect for that mural and what it represented in the community so even though this is a city like full of graffiti, that mural was usually untouchable,” Jasmyne Cannick, a political consultant, told the news site. “For a community that already feels like it’s being pushed out, and we have very little left around here,” she added. “That wall is kind of a big deal.” U.S. Rep. Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) noted that the incident was a reminder that racism is still alive and well in this very country that some seem to think is above and beyond the awful displays. “When people think of racism like this, they think about some far-off time in some far-off land. But this is today, in South Los Angeles, on Crenshaw. These are swastikas on Black faces. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,” she tweeted on Thursday.

When people think of racism like this, they think about some far-off time in some far-off land.

But this is today, in South Los Angeles, on Crenshaw. These are swastikas on Black faces.

An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. pic.twitter.com/xP7D05A3o4

— Congressmember Bass (@RepKarenBass) November 29, 2018