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Kansas City Police Investigate Vandalism of Memorial to Lynching Victim Kansas City Police Investigate Vandalism of Memorial to Lynching Victim
(about 2 hours later)
The authorities are investigating the vandalism of a sign that memorialized a Missouri man, Levi Harrington, who was lynched in the 1880s, the police in Kansas City, Mo., said on Monday.The authorities are investigating the vandalism of a sign that memorialized a Missouri man, Levi Harrington, who was lynched in the 1880s, the police in Kansas City, Mo., said on Monday.
A spokesman for the police, Sgt. Jake Becchina, said that no one had reported the incident to the police, but that they were now looking into it after being notified by news reports.A spokesman for the police, Sgt. Jake Becchina, said that no one had reported the incident to the police, but that they were now looking into it after being notified by news reports.
The navy blue and gold sign was removed from its post and tossed over a small wall and down a cliff, according to photos posted on social media and local news outlets.The navy blue and gold sign was removed from its post and tossed over a small wall and down a cliff, according to photos posted on social media and local news outlets.
The sign was unveiled in 2018 by community leaders and the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit legal advocacy group, in the city’s West Terrace Park to memorialize Mr. Harrington, “a well-respected African-American man who lived with his wife and five children near Kansas City,” according to the marker. The sign was unveiled in 2018 by community leaders and the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit legal advocacy group, in West Terrace Park to memorialize Mr. Harrington, “a well-respected African-American man who lived with his wife and five children near Kansas City,” according to the marker.
It details how, on April 3, 1882, after a police officer was fatally shot in the city, black residents were targeted. As Mr. Harrington traveled through the city that day, the police arrested him, although they lacked evidence for his involvement in the shooting, the marker said.It details how, on April 3, 1882, after a police officer was fatally shot in the city, black residents were targeted. As Mr. Harrington traveled through the city that day, the police arrested him, although they lacked evidence for his involvement in the shooting, the marker said.
“An angry white mob quickly formed and grew to several hundred people intent on lynching Mr. Harrington,” the memorial said. The mob hanged Mr. Harrington from a beam of a bridge and shot him. “Although newspapers reported that Mr. Harrington was innocent of the accusations against him, no one was held accountable,” the sign concludes.“An angry white mob quickly formed and grew to several hundred people intent on lynching Mr. Harrington,” the memorial said. The mob hanged Mr. Harrington from a beam of a bridge and shot him. “Although newspapers reported that Mr. Harrington was innocent of the accusations against him, no one was held accountable,” the sign concludes.
The memorial was part of the nonprofit’s Community Remembrance Project, which recognizes victims of lynching by collecting soil from lynching sites and creating markers. The reverse side of the sign contains a history of lynching in the United States. Researchers for the Equal Justice Initiative have documented more than 4,000 lynchings between 1877 and 1950. The memorial was erected by the Community Remembrance Project of Missouri, which works with the Equal Justice Initiative to recognize victims of lynching by collecting soil from lynching sites and creating markers. The reverse side of the sign contains a history of lynching in the United States. Researchers for the Equal Justice Initiative have documented more than 4,000 lynchings between 1877 and 1950.
“We are in no way deterred from our commitment to helping communities confront the history of racial injustice represented by lynchings of black people by white mobs,” the nonprofit said in a statement on Monday. “That symbols designed to promote understanding and repair are targets of vandalism and violence just reinforces the need for this project.” “In the context of protests throughout the country and locally in Kansas City to decry the killing of George Floyd and demand reform of police practices, it is shocking to see a monument dedicated to acknowledging the horrific lynching endured by another unarmed African-American man in Kansas City brutalized,” the Community Remembrance Project said in a statement on Monday. “To intentionally cut down the marker and throw it down the hill represents a rejection of historic and current truths.”
The sign and other memorials like it have been targeted before. In 2019, someone defaced the Kansas City marker with graffiti. A sign just outside of Glendora, Miss., placed in memory of Emmett Till, has been repeatedly struck by bullets. In a separate statement, the Equal Justice Initiative said it was “in no way deterred from our commitment to helping communities confront the history of racial injustice represented by lynchings of black people by white mobs.”
“This is a sacred space,” said Rod Chapel, the president of the Missouri N.A.A.C.P., after the sign was vandalized in 2019. “We do not take its defacement lightly. It is part of our continuing struggle to acknowledge our history and advocate for a better future. We do not deface churches or graveyards or other holy places.” “That symbols designed to promote understanding and repair are targets of vandalism and violence just reinforces the need for this project,” it said.
The damage to the Harrington memorial comes as protesters, outraged by the death of George Floyd and other black people killed by the police, have directed some of their frustration toward monuments that they consider to be symbols of racism and oppression, such as statues of Confederate leaders and Christopher Columbus. The sign and other memorials like it have been targeted before. In 2019, someone defaced the Kansas City marker with graffiti. A sign posted just outside Glendora, Miss., in memory of Emmett Till has been repeatedly struck by bullets.
“This is a sacred space,” Rod Chapel, the president of the Missouri N.A.A.C.P., said after the Harrington sign was vandalized in 2019. “We do not take its defacement lightly. It is part of our continuing struggle to acknowledge our history and advocate for a better future. We do not deface churches or graveyards or other holy places.”
The damage to the Harrington memorial comes as protesters, outraged by the death of Mr. Floyd and other black people killed by the police, have directed some of their frustration toward monuments that they consider to be symbols of racism and oppression, such as statues of Confederate leaders and Christopher Columbus.
Some of the monuments have been spray-painted, toppled, or removed by the authorities, and, in two cases, statues were dragged into a lake and decapitated.Some of the monuments have been spray-painted, toppled, or removed by the authorities, and, in two cases, statues were dragged into a lake and decapitated.