ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The top officials at Washington University in St. Louis sent a letter after a "despicable act of vandalism" occurred over the weekend. A mural of prominent Black figures was painted over with racist symbols of a known white supremacist group.
It happened Saturday night on the mural painted in September 2021 called "The Story That Never Ends," located in a pedestrian tunnel that connects dorms on the St. Louis campus. The mural includes civil rights activist and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, actor Chadwick Boseman of “Black Panther," civil rights attorney Homer G. Phillips, Annie Malone, who made a fortune selling hair-care products and founded the St. Louis Colored Orphans Home and others.
"This is horrifying and distressing. We’re shocked and saddened by this hateful act on our campus," the letter states. "We realize this incident may cause many of you to feel hurt, frustrated and angry. We share those feelings."
Video of the vandalism was shared by students and shows many of the Black figures' faces painted white, and the logo of a white supremacist hate group stamped in the middle. An image of the vandalism was also shared on reddit.
The artist plans to repair the mural, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
WashU officials say there are cameras in the area of the vandalism and that a "small group of unknown individuals" committed the racist act.
"We appreciate the many students who contacted us late last night after this happened," the letter states. "As soon as we learned of this incident, we began to mobilize to remove the white supremacist name and symbols from the mural and found that students had already worked quickly to cover them. WUPD immediately began an investigation."
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