Source: Alexis Franklin / O magazine
A sculpture designed to honor the memory of Breonna Taylor in Oakland, California has been vandalized. Taylor is the woman wrongfully murdered by police earlier this year in Louisville, Kentucky.
The sculpture of Taylor was just recently installed in Oakland two weeks ago. Police are on the search for those responsible for destroying the art. They tore the statue into pieces over the weekend.
The creator of the sculpture, Leo Carson believes the destruction of the piece may have been racially motivated.
“I think it was an act of racist aggression,” said Carson. “The attack on the sculpture was … in some ways it felt like a personal attack because I put so much work and effort and so much of myself into it,” Carson said. “But far more important than that was it was an attack on Breonna Taylor herself and on the Black Lives Matter movement.”
Carson designed the art piece to be a symbol against injustice, to honor the Black Lives Matter movement and the promising life taken so unfairly.
Source: Amy Sherald / Vanity Fair
Crowds of people were drawn to the site of the sculpture in downtown Oakland.
Jodi-Ann Burey spoke with reporters on scene and believes the vandalism is a chilling example of how Black women are viewed and treated in America.
“The attacks are not gonna stop. It’s up to the community, it’s up to our society and it’s up to us to protect this statue and protect Black women,” Burey said.
Another Oakland resident commented, “It’s really upsetting, and I’m trying to imagine who would come out here and do such a thing? Who would feel so threatened by something dedicated to her? I’m really hoping that it’s not someone from Oakland.”
Carson has been able to salvage the broken pieces of the bust in order to use them while rebuilding it. He plans to reinforce his design and make even stronger than before. However, to accomplish this task he is seeking a little assistance.
“I have just started a GoFundMe to cast it in bronze to repair it and to reinstall it in bronze so that this couldn’t happen again,” Carson said.
Carson’s GoFundMe page hopes to raise a goal of $5,000 to reinstall the sculpture in bronze. He plans to donate any funds over the cost to Breonna Taylor’s family.
Source: NBC4i
