MIAMI (WSVN) - A George Floyd mural was defaced in South Florida, but the original mural’s artist has repaired the damage done.
The mural is located near the intersection of Northwest First Avenue and 16th Street. It is unclear when the vandalism took place.
Video showed the mural spray painted with the words “Death is 4ever” and “Smile thru pain” written in red.
Kyle Holbrook, the artist who created the mural, said he was not going to let the mural stay that way. He arrived at the mural at 10 a.m. Thursday and covered the vandal’s dirty work.
“I mean, honestly, this is the perfect example of like what a loser does,” he said. “This is a statement that can’t be forgotten.”
Floyd was killed by Derek Chauvin, who was a police officer at the time, during a May 2020 arrest in Minnesota. Holbrook said he created the mural in Floyd’s memory.
“I mean, we live in America, and the great thing about it is you can have different views,” Holbrook said, “but if your view is hate, you never win, and it doesn’t matter if they do it a million times. I’m gonna come out here every time because it’s for the community, and we don’t give up. It’s not going to happen.”
Holbrook said he is not only repairing it but making it better. He said it is his way of not letting hate win.
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