ST. LOUIS — A mural that was designed to display unity on Washington University’s campus was vandalized over the weekend.
When Brock Seals and his fellow St. Louis artists went to work on this Black-History-inspired mural, the plan was for everyone who crosses through the South 40 underpass on campus to feel inspired.
The installation includes well-known civil rights trailblazer and former U.S. Rep. John Lewis, and Chadwick Boseman, who Seals painted the day after the actor died last summer.
“Some of the messages are speaking to bringing people together and also uplifting,” Seals said.
On Saturday, students told university officials about the vandalism to the installation with the prominent names painted over and a symbol of a known white supremacist group defiling the canvas.
For Seals, the destruction is two-fold.
“As a Black man first, I face these things on a daily basis so I'm outraged but I’m not surprised. Now from an artist standpoint, I’m definitely devastated,” he added.
A joint statement from administrators said “Washington University stands unequivocally against hate, bigotry, racism, xenophobia and discrimination in any form. There is no place on our campus for these behaviors and this type of harmful action will not be tolerated or ignored.”
The Missouri Council on American-Islamic Relations also called for a hate crime investigation into the act saying “We condemn this hateful act and stand in solidarity with the Black community at Washington University.”
The incident came amid finals week for students on campus.
“This was supposed to be taking the stress away. A reliever. But it’s just opening your eyes to what’s really going on in the world. I hope this will definitely continue the conversation, ” Seals said.
This is an ongoing investigation. Officials said they would use camera footage to help identify who is responsible for the damage.
In a statement, Administrators have listed resources for anyone in the community impacted by the incident.
The artists have created a GoFundMe to help restore the mural.