An Ottawa, Canada, tribute mural to Sandra Bland—created by artists Allan André and Kalkidan Assefa*—was defaced overnight. The mural went up at Tech Wall, a sanctioned graffiti space in Ottawa, where the words “Black Lives Matter” were painted by BlakCollectiv in the early morning hours on July 22. The “Black Lives Matter” mural* was met with disdain from local white graffiti writers:
The Black Lives Matter – Ottawa Coalition showed support last night with our sisters of BlakCollectiv in their…
Posted by Black Lives Matter – Ottawa Coalition on Wednesday, July 22, 2015
The “Black Lives Matter” mural was replaced by a “Wu-Tang is for the Children” blockbuster—chronicled by OT Waddup as an act rooted in entitlement and “a little too much like white privilege.” André and Assefa then painted a portrait of Bland, along with her name. The words “All Lives Matter” then went over the Bland tribute last night:
ATTENTION:Around 1:30 a.m. the #SandraBland mural created by Allan André and Kalkidan Assefa with initiative from…
Posted by Black Lives Matter – Ottawa Coalition on Monday, July 27, 2015
But Black Lives Matter – Ottawa got to work repairing the mural, and it’s now been restored, with some slight variation from the original:
It is now 3 a.m., #SandraBland. You are fixed. Ottawa will not let Black women be forgotten; erased. #SayHerName pic.twitter.com/fZ8zDPPgCq
— BLM Ottawa (@blmottawa) July 28, 2015
*This post has been updated since publication to reflect that artists André and Assefa intitated the Sandra Bland tribute mural, and to clarify that local graffiti writers were upset with the "Black Lives Matter" mural, not the Sandra Bland tribute.