Name: A unity mural by Chicago artists was painted over the night after it was finished: ‘They can cover our message, but they can’t stop us from spreading it’
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A unity mural by Chicago artists was painted over the night after it was finished: ‘They can cover our message, but they can’t stop us from spreading it’

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AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJun 12, 2020 at 5:50 amSeven black and Latino artists joined forces Saturday to paint a mural to represent unity between the two communities and to nourish the Black Lives Matter movement.The artists spent hours painting a portrait of Breonna Taylor, killed by Louisville, Kentucky, police in her home, next to an image of Benito Juarez, the 19th century Mexican president who who ousted French colonial power. They included a black man and a Latino man with their fists together. It took them nearly two days to finish.AdvertisementThe next day, it was gone.The massive mural under a viaduct in the 300 block of North Damen Avenue near the United Center was covered in white paint overnight, less than 12 hours after it was finished. When the artists returned the next day to take photos, all they found was a bucket of white paint and rollers, the ones, they assumed, used to cover up their message.Advertisement“They can cover our message, but they can’t stop us from spreading it,” said Dred Ske, one of the seven artists who collaborated to paint the mural following racial mayhem between African Americans and Latinos on the West Side last week. Chicago police said there had been no reports regarding the incident, and Ald. Walter Burnett, 27th, said that he did not report the mural to the city and believes that the “whitewashing” of the “powerful mural” was a direct response to the efforts of the artists.A spokeswoman for the city’s Department of Streets and Sanitation said that the department did not remove the mural and added that the way the unity mural was removed is not consistent with the agency’s process and procedures.The mural had its genesis in artists coming together following the unrest in the wake of George Floyd’s killing at the hands of Minneapolis police. When news broke about violence against black people by members of the Latino community amid Chicago protests, artist Tubs Zilla wanted to try to help “stop the spread of more divisiveness,” he said. So he first looked for an empty space and decided to finish painting the wall of the viaduct on Damen between Lake Street and Grand Avenue. In February, one of his colleagues had painted a mural of the late NBA star Kobe Bryant on the wall. Tubs then reached out to some of his colleagues, including Dred Ske, Sentrock, Cujo, Milton Coronado, Statik and Nikko Washington. They all agreed to volunteer their time for the mural that would strengthen and promote unity between black and Latino people, Tubs said. Delilah Martinez, an art broker and owner of Vault Gallery in Pilsen, helped the artists with logistics to create the massive mural that she estimated had a value of $30,000 to $40,000, she said.She managed to get some donations of materials. Local businesses also donated food and drinks for the artists, and many more stopped by to show support throughout the day.Advertisement“It was beautiful to see them working together on such a special project to send a positive message,” Martinez said.When stores in Pilsen began to board up after looting broke out throughout the city last week, Martinez recruited artists to paint over the boards with messages of love and in support of Black Lives Matter.So when Tubs asked for her help, Martinez didn’t hesitate. And since the news that the unity mural had been painted over, she said she has received requests for the artists to paint other walls across the city.Though the artists are figuring out ways to spread their message, for Sentrock the painting over of the mural was disheartening, he said. “We poured so much energy into it, but we were more excited about the message and the motive because we wanted to make a statement,” Sentrock said.He believes that the covering of the mural was carefully planned.Advertisement“It’s a large wall. You need a lot of paint and it takes work,” he said, and the image of Bryant was left alone.Though the artists are used to the city removing their art from time to time, it doesn’t happen in the middle of the night, they said. Burnett said it “would have been insensitive” of city officials to order the removal of any such mural at this time.Kristen South, a spokesperson for the Union Pacific Railroad, confirmed Union Pacific and Metra jointly own the bridge over the viaduct where the mural was painted. South said the company “did not paint over the mural and are unsure who did so.”The artists, however, think someone deliberately painted over the mural to silence them.“This was a direct response from those that do not want our voices to be heard. They do not want us to unite together for positive change. Our wall may be gone, but our message still remains!” Tubs wrote on Instagram.Despite the disappointment, the artists have set up a plan to paint similar murals throughout the city. Burnett has committed to working with the collective of artists to find a way to repaint the wall.AdvertisementThe artists, including Martinez, set up to raise money to be able to have the same seven artists paint more unity murals in different communities.The money raised will also be used to facilitate children and youth programs to learn about the Black Lives Matter movement and the need for black and brown unity through arts, according to the artists.“Whoever covered the mural, ignited more fire in all of us to work harder to spread our message,” Martinez said.larodriguez@chicagotribune.com Advertisement

AdvertisementBy Chicago TribuneJun 12, 2020 at 5:50 amSeven black and Latino artists joined forces Saturday to paint a mural to represent unity between the two communities and to nourish the Black Lives Matter movement.The artists spent hours painting a portrait of Breonna Taylor, killed by Louisville, Kentucky, police in her home, next to an image of Benito Juarez, the 19th century Mexican president who who ousted French colonial power. They included a black man and a Latino man with their fists together. It took them nearly two days to finish.AdvertisementThe next day, it was gone.The...

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Laura Rodríguez Presa

The Chicago Tribune is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television are named), it remains the most-read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region. It had the 6th highest circulation for American newspapers in 2017.

A unity mural by Chicago artists was painted over the night after it was finished: ‘They can cover our message, but they can’t stop us from spreading it’

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