Latest news with #KyleHolbrook
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Mural honoring MLB legends Jackie Robinson and Minnie Minoso vandalized with sickening racist message
Murals honoring beloved baseball trailblazers Jackie Robinson and Minnie Miñoso were defaced with swastikas and hateful racist slurs in Miami this week. Local police say the incident was reported Monday in at Dorsey Park in Overtown, a predominantly black area northwest of Downtown Miami. The Athletic has reported that the vandalism is being investigated as a hate crime. Swastikas were painted over the murals' faces, with a racist slur written across Robinson's. The murals were originally painted by artist Kyle Holbrook in 2011 as part of Martin Luther King project in the city. 'This was an act of hate, but it will not define us,' Holbrook told the Miami Herald. 'This mural was born from a community's pride, history, and power. We will restore it -- stronger, bolder, and with even more purpose. Black history is American history. And no spray paint can erase that truth.' Born in Cuba in 1924, Miñoso was a breakout star with the Negro leagues' New York Cubans before becoming the first Afro-Latino player in Major League Baseball history. He'd go on to earn nine All-Star appearances, three gold gloves in left field, and have his No. 9 retired by the Chicago White Sox. He died in 2015 – seven years before his posthumous induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Robinson arrived in the majors with the Brooklyn Dodgers a year before Miñoso in 1947 to breaking baseball's color barrier and helping to reinvigorate America's civil rights movement. Remembered as an icon of integration, Robinson's exploits as a player are often overshadowed by his other contributions to society. But in addition to being an extraordinary running back at UCLA, Robinson would win the 1947 Rookie of the year in Brooklyn before taking MVP honors and the National League batting title two years later. His No. 42 is retired throughout baseball, outside of Jackie Robinson day when it's worn by both the American and National Leagues. Robinson was inducted into Cooperstown in 1962. US congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (Democrat, Florida) has called the vandalism a 'vile act of hatred' in a statement Wednesday. 'We must treat this for what it is: a hate crime meant to instill fear and division,' she said. 'But we will not be intimidated. We will respond with unity, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to truth, justice, and the preservation of our history.' A similar incident took place in Wichita, Kansas in 2024 when a Robinson statue was stolen, burned and destroyed. In 2024, 45-year-old Ricky Alderete was arrested for the crime. Police say he intended to sell the metal for scrap. Ultimately Alderete got 18 months for theft in August of 2024.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Jackie Robinson mural in Miami defaced with hate speech
June 6 - Miami murals honoring baseball trailblazers Jackie Robinson and Minnie Minoso were defaced with swastikas and racist slurs this week. The vandalism in the city's Overtown neighborhood was reported Monday to police, who told The Athletic on Friday that they are investigating the incident as a hate crime. The defacements of the murals in Dorsey Park included swastikas painted over the players' faces and a racial slur scrawled on Robinson's image. "This was an act of hate, but it will not define us," Kyle Holbrook, the artist who painted the mural in 2011 as part of the MLK Mural Project, told the Miami Herald. "This mural was born from a community's pride, history, and power. We will restore it -- stronger, bolder, and with even more purpose. Black history is American history. And no spray paint can erase that truth." Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. The Hall of Famer's uniform No. 42 is retired throughout the big leagues. Minoso, who was born in Cuba, also broke ground as the first Black Latino player when he played for Cleveland in 1949. He was inducted into Cooperstown in 2022. U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) called the vandalism a "vile act of hatred" in a statement Wednesday. "We must treat this for what it is: a hate crime meant to instill fear and division," she said. "But we will not be intimidated. We will respond with unity, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to truth, justice, and the preservation of our history." In 2024, a statue of Robinson was stolen from a park in Wichita, Kan., and later found burned and dismantled. --Field Level Media
Black America Web
6 days ago
- General
- Black America Web
Black History Mural In Miami Defaced With Swastikas And Racist Graffiti
Source: Art Wager / Getty In today's episode of Attack Of The Fragile Vandals , a Black history mural at Dorsey Park in Miami's Overtown neighborhood has been defaced with swastikas, racial slurs and other racist graffiti, likely put there by a person (or persons) who gets their Confederate flag under garments in a bunch at the sight of Black culture being commemorated. (And, look, I'm not saying they're probably Trump supporters, but they're probably yuge fans of authoritarian governments that lie about 'white genocide' while trying to ban all teachings on anti-Black systemic racism into 'woke' oblivion.) From CBS News: The vandalism appeared on a section of the mural at NW 17th St. and NW 1st Ave., part of a historic public art effort led by the MLK Mural Project, Urgent Inc., and Touching Miami with Love. Painted in 2012, the mural was created to honor the cultural legacy of Dorsey Park, once home to the Negro Leagues' Ethiopian Clowns. Artist and community organizer Kyle Holbrook, who founded the MLK Mural Project, led the effort to commemorate African American icons and local history. The mural features figures such as Jackie Robinson, whose image was among those defaced. 'This was an act of hate, but it will not define us,' Holbrook said. 'This mural was born from a community's pride, history, and power. We will restore it—stronger, bolder, and with even more purpose. Black history is American history. And no spray paint can erase that truth.' It's starting to feel like a trend, honestly. Last week, in Texas — arguably the only state that rivals Florida when it comes to labeling non-whitewashed Black history 'woke' in order to justify banning it just to placate white nationalism and white fragility — a historical marker in downtown Dallas that tells the story of a Black man, Allen Brooks, who was lynched by a white mob in 1910, was cut down at the base and destroyed by unkown vandals. The week before that, a white man in Beachwood, Ohio, was accused of checking out 100 books on Black, Jewish and LGBTQ studies and burning them all on camera. Hell, when it comes down to it, the destruction of Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., was done by the current administration in an effort to appease the same white and eternally fragile people who are likely out here vandalizing Black historical renderings out of pure racial resentment. As for the mural at Dorsey, CBS reports that 'local leaders, artists and residents are organizing efforts to restore and expand the mural, using the incident as a call for unity,' and they're asking community members to participate in the effort. Hopefully, the mural will be restored. Hopefully, all of the defaced Black historical art across the nation will be as well. As for the hatred and bigotry that causes the vandalism — well, that's just America making itself great again , unfortunately. SEE ALSO: White Florida Man Says He Would Have Shot Black Girl Who Rang His Doorbell Karens, Klans And Caucasian Tears: The Grift Of Racism In America SEE ALSO Black History Mural In Miami Defaced With Swastikas And Racist Graffiti was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pittsburgh artist speaks out after second mural vandalized across the country
Pittsburgh artist Kyle Holbrook, most recently known for his artwork on the Tree of Life Synagogue, is now experiencing vandalism on his artwork in other parts of the country. 'When I went to prime the mural, it had the n-word and had a swastika,' said Holbrook, who is the Executive Artist for the MLK Mural Project. Holbrook has over 300 pieces of art in Pittsburgh. After the recent attacks on his murals in Oakland, California, and Miami, Florida, he wants people to know the mission of this work. 'I choose to do art that speaks to certain issues and draws attention and memorializes, such as the Negro League's mural. It's memorializing a lost, at the time, part of American History,' said Holbrook The vandalism showed antisemitic symbols and racial slurs over his works about autism and black athletes. Holbrook said, 'For this to happen to me with two different murals within two weeks…this is something that's going on in society.' He hopes his artwork will remain safe as he continues his mission for peace. 'I don't want people to be scared. It's important to show strength,' said Holbrook. He was able to go to Oakland to fix his work and plans to go to Miami to do the same. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
Miami Herald
7 days ago
- General
- Miami Herald
A can of spray paint and a hateful act can't erase Miami's shared Black history
They won't succeed. Whoever recently spray-painted sickening racist and antisemitic graffiti on a Miami mural celebrating African-American history tried to blot out our shared history with one act of hate and a can of paint. This community won't let them. Already, local leaders are calling for unity and strength and planning to make the mural in Miami's historic Overtown neighborhood more visually powerful. That's important: Standing up to hatred is the fitting and necessary response, and we hope to see more leaders with influence in South Florida join in publicly. We will be much stronger if we fight with a united front. 'This mural was born from a community's pride, history, and power,' said Kyle Holbrook, the founder of the MLK Mural Project, as reported by NBC 6. 'We will restore it — stronger, bolder and with even more purpose. Black history is American history.' The artwork features local and national figures of Black excellence such as baseball great Jackie Robinson, whose image was among those defaced. Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color line in 1947, becoming a symbol of the civil rights movement in the process. Painted on the fences surrounding Dorsey Park in 2012, the public art project — led by the MLK Mural Project, Urgent Inc. and Touching Miami with Love — was also created to honor the cultural legacy of the park, which was once home to the Negro Leagues' Ethiopian Clowns. The park was named after D.A. Dorsey, considered to be the first African-American millionaire in Miami. The vandalism apparently occurred Sunday or Monday. By Tuesday, the slurs were covered by tarps, which seems like a good idea. Why give the perpetrators any more air time for their foul work? Daniella Pierre, president of the Miami-Dade branch of the NAACP, told NBC 6 she is asking for more police presence in the neighborhood and, potentially, for cameras to be posted. 'We will not tolerate hatred, bigotry or any defacing to any of the murals in our community. We're here today to call for change. We're here today to call for unity. But we're also here today to call for greater protection,' she said at a news conference about the vandalism, which was on a section of the mural at NW 17th St. and NW 1st Ave. South Florida knows far too well about hatred. Since two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington, D.C. were gunned down outside the Capital Jewish Museum on May 21, police in our community have been on high alert. And that was before the attack in Colorado where a suspect threw Molotov cocktails at people rallying for Israeli hostages. South Florida has one of the largest Jewish communities in the nation. As the Miami Herald Editorial Board pointed out after the shooting in D.C., we have almost become accustomed to hate crimes in this country, an awful thing to contemplate. This is not something we should get used to, even though the language of hate — name-calling and anger and vilifying the 'other' — runs rampant through our politics. The defacement of the Overtown mural isn't just vandalism. It's an attack on who we are and who we want to be. The perpetrators must be caught, but our efforts can't stop there. This is a symptom of a problem we have in this community Miami needs to fight hate with everything we have. Click here to send the letter.
