Emergency Response to Mural Hate Crime - Targeting Rachel Corrie

Emergency Response to Vicious Hate Crime Attack on Mission Mural

San Francisco – The Bill of Rights protects freedom of speech. Art can be a
poignant expression of a point of view and, when it is vandalized, our
democratic values are compromised. The erosion of our rights are on the
line even in the San Francisco Bay Area, known for its progressive stances
and community art.

On Thursday, February 26th, the mural “La Lucha Continua/The Struggle
Continues,” on 23rd Street (between Mission and Capp) was attacked by
someone/s wielding a hammer, leaving large, gaping holes in the portraits of
three social justice activists – obliterating their faces entirely. In the
wee hours of the morning, neighbors heard the blows and immediately called
the police, but no one was apprehended. In July 2003, the mural, 15 by 35
feet, was similarly destroyed.

The worst hit in both attacks was the portrait of Rachel Corrie, the young
woman who, one year ago, was run over and killed by an Israeli bulldozer in
Occupied Palestine. Corrie’s face now has a hole approximately 36 inches by
12 inches. The portraits of Mumia Abu Jamal and Bernadette Devlin were also
destroyed. Then, on February 28th, racist and misogynist words were written
on what is left of Rachel Corrie's portrait and on Nelson Mandela's
likeness; along with a Hitler-like moustache on Mandela.

“La Lucha Continua/The Struggle Continues” was initially painted in 1985 and
is being restored by Susan Greene, the original artist. The current
restoration is funded in part by the City of San Francisco’s Neighborhood
Beautification Fund.

The theme of the mural is that of social justice, highlighting both leaders
and every-day people who have worked to make this a better world. The mural
encourages people to work together and to continue to struggle for racial,
economic and gender equality. The mural consists of 30 portraits of famous
figures in the history of social justice movements worldwide. It will have
two mirrors incorporated into the design, so that each viewer becomes part
of the mural – and takes his/her place in the continuing struggle.

Susan Greene is an artist and psychologist who has lived in the Bay Area for
the past 20 years. Originally from New York, Greene has painted murals in
San Francisco, the East Bay, Central America and the Middle East. She
directs the learning Center at the San Francisco Art Institute, teaches
mural painting at the University of San Francisco and conducts a bookmaking
class at the San Francisco County Jail.