Statue defaced by white supremacist group.
On Saturday, in honour of Juneteeth, a statue of George Floyd was unveiled in Brooklyn. However, less than a week later, the statue has been imprinted with white supremacist logos.
On Saturday, the statue was revealed in front of an immense crowd, including Terrence Floyd, the brother of the late George Floyd. Terrence was seen kneeling in front of the bust, bowing his head in honour of his late brother. The crowd chanted “we are Floyd” as American Rapper Papoose wrote a message on the side of the art piece.
George Floyd statue on the corner of Flatbush and Nostrand Ave. It will be there for 3 weeks. pic.twitter.com/ZIefImOvgA
— Mukta Ahmad (@MuktaAhmad2) June 19, 2021
“George Floyd was hunted, knees were used to prey… in life, we should only use knees to pray.”
Four men are assumed to be responsible, as CCTV caught them approaching the statue at around 3.40 am. Spray paint was used to deface the bust, with the criminals linked to the white power group The Patriot Front. The anti-defamation league describes the group’s purpose as preserving what they refer to as America’s white, European identity.
The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating, as well as the department’s Racial and Ethnically Motivated Extremism unit. City Council Member Farah Louis, representing the Flatbush, spoke out on Twitter regarding the blatant racially charged attack.
‘Today my office learned that the George Floyd sculpture at Flatbush Junction has been vandalized,’ she wrote. ‘This is a hate crime and totally unacceptable to the memory of Mr. Floyd and to the Black community as well as our efforts to achieve #racialjustice and equality in America.’
Chris Carnabuci, who designed the statue, is working with city officials to restore the artwork without destroying it further.
‘I’m saddened by it,’ said Carnabuci said to the New York Times. ‘I’m not completely shocked.’
‘It was so quickly afterwards that it happened,’ he said. ‘Maybe that was a surprise.’
The installation was due to move to Union square after three weeks, though it has not been revealed if the attack will change that date.
