MIAMI – A mural honoring African American history has been vandalized at Dorsey Park in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood.
Racist graffiti was seen spray-painted all over the image of legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson, created by artist Kyle Holbrook.
A swastika, the n-word and other offensive language were spray painted on the mural located along Northwest 17th Street and First Avenue.
“The person that saw this was Jayden Floyd, a 7-year-old young man who came outside on a Sunday and saw the defacement that took place and asked his mom what it meant, what it was,” Nicole Crooks, of Catalyst Miami, said.
Local leaders, artists and residents are already organizing efforts to restore the mural.
A press conference about the incident was held Tuesday morning by concerned citizens and community organizations.
“Today we are here to document that a hate crime has happened in our community,” Metris Batts-Coley, of the Overtown Business Association, said.
“What you see behind me is not paint on the wall, it’s pain, it’s hate, it’s disgrace,” added Anthony Robinson, of the Overtown Children and Youth Coalition.
The park has a history of its own as it was named after Miami’s first Black millionaire and was the former home of the city’s Negro League baseball team.
The vandalism was first spotted earlier this week on top of the image of Jackie Robinson, who famously broke baseball’s color barrier.
“The individual who did this is hurting, the individual who did this feels that they have been embodied with the ability to spill their hate back onto a community that has not served them hate,” Terrance Cribbs-Lorrant, of the Miami Black Police Precinct Museum, said.
The mural was originally commissioned back in 2012 to commemorate the park’s history and honor Black icons.
Now, those images of achievement have been covered up by city workers as crews work to remove the symbols of hate and restore the artwork to its original form.
As for the person behind the vandalism, residents and nearby business owners shared a strong, yet simple message.
“Whoever it was, we want you to come forward, we want to hear you, we want you to know your pain is misplaced,” Cribbs-Lorrant said.