TACOMA, Wash. — The South Tacoma Library is working to restore a diversity mural it commissioned from a local artist after it was defaced with racist graffiti earlier this week.
According to the library, the building was tagged on the sides facing South 56th Street and South Puget Sound Avenue early Wednesday morning. The side of the building featured a mural created by local artist Dionne Bonner in partnership with the City of Tacoma’s Arts and Cultural Vitality division. Also tagged was a nearby traffic box that featured public art depicting people of color.
"Bonner engaged in a collaborative process with local leaders in the diverse neighborhoods of South Tacoma to create a vibrant mural that incorporates visual elements from cultures and traditions that are part of this community," the library said in a Facebook post. "We love the mural’s bright colors, butterflies, flowers, and imagery of people reading, and are grateful for the way the mural has captured the attention of passersby and also added vitality to the neighborhood. We appreciate how Dionne worked with the community to reflect the joy and discovery found within the library."
The library said it will take down the graffiti "as expediently as possible and work to repair the mural." It is also working with the Tacoma Police Department in the investigation to determine if the graffiti work is a hate crime.
"We will continue to care for and appreciate this mural for the way it represents our community and the welcoming space within the library. The vital resources, services, programs, collections, and support that the public accesses inside the South Tacoma Library will continue," the library said. "Racial equity and social justice are the values at the forefront of our libraries, and we will continue to be a place where everyone in our community can find information, resources, services, and radically welcoming staff and spaces."
