Wichita Artists and Community Restore “Immigration Is Beautiful” Mural Defaced by Racist Graffiti

By:
Feb 15, 2014
10:37 PM

Remember the immigration mural in Wichita, Kansas defaced with racist graffiti this week?

Armando Minjarez

Armando Minjarez

We have some good news to share.

The folks at The Seed House/Casa de la Semilla updated us this evening about the mural.

It has been restored.

Here are three images the group shared on its Facebook page.

seedhouse3

Armando Minjarez

seedhouse

Armando Minjarez

seedhouse2

Armando Minjarez

And this, too:

restored

Armando Minjarez

A local Kansas story adds more:

Dozens showed up Saturday morning to help repaint the mural called “Immigration is Beautiful” near 21st and Park Place. Armed with “Krud Kutter” and paint brushes to get rid of the graffiti, with racial slurs on top.

“The mural is not propoganda,” said Armando Minjarez, a cultural worker and resident artist who spoke to the group Saturday morning. “That mural is about experiences they have gone through.”

One group worked on fixing the mural, another team worked on creating a new mural that will go on the back of the building, and a third team went through the neighborhood to talk to neighbors about the significance of the mural and ask if they to would like to help.

“Pictures are worth a thousand words and we’re fixing this picture that someone tried messing up,” said Jan Swartzendruber, one of the volunteer painters. “That’s what’s so neat about this group, it shows you a cross section of Wichita and the ability to work together and that’s a really important message to me.”