CALGARY -- A Calgary mural championing the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has been vandalized.
The piece was painted on the side of a shipping container in Sunnyside’s containR Park.
It was originally put up early last week after the previous artwork — also celebrating the BLM movement — was defaced.
“(Those responsible for the graffiti) are brutally teaching me and other people that racism is more important than my humanity,” BLM YYC president Adora Nwofor told CTV News.
The graffiti was done sometime Friday or early Saturday.
“They’re not really just ignorant,” Nwofor said. “This means that they’ve made a decision that’s founded in hate.”
Its artistic director says containR Park is a place meant to celebrate inclusion and community involvement. She calls the incident “a shame.”
“A lot of work and planning and community activism goes into creating the artwork that’s on site,” Nicole Mion with Springboard Performance said. “Art always reflects what’s happening in the community. It needs to.”
Mion believes the vandalized BLM artwork — not the only piece celebrating Black culture in the park — is vital.
“I don’t feel like I belong,” Nwofor said. “So when I see images (that promote equality), I get excited. It’s like Christmas for me.
“That’s why representation matters.”
Those involved believe this graffiti shows the city still has work to do when it comes to equality. But they say there’s reason for hope and it comes in the form of a message from the mural artist.
“They told me a quote that said, ‘You can kill a man, but you can’t kill an idea.’ So with that in mind, we will paint another mural,” Mion said.
Another piece celebrating Black culture will be put up in the coming weeks.
To learn more about the BLM movement in Calgary or to support the cause, visit blacklivesmatteryyc.com.
