Surveillance video: Racial justice art installation vandalized - again - at Mill Valley school
Suspect vandalizes Black Lives Matter installation in Mill Valley
On July 22, a Mill Valley police officer discovered that someone had vandalized the local art installation piece titled "Perspectives: Past, Present and Future," which fronts Tamalpais High School. Police discovered that the portion of the art that read "Black Lives Matter" on the "Present" door and "Equity" on the "Future" door had been damaged.
MILL VALLEY, Calif. - An art installation at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley has been vandalized again, the second time in less than two months.
Mill Valley police released a video on Wednesday showing a man using some sort of substance in an aerosol can to spray the public art piece about 11 p.m. on July 20.
Surveillance video shows the man spraying something over the words "present" and "equity" on the Black Lives Matter portion of the piece.
The 30-second video shows the man spraying the can, but it's unclear what damage was done. There is just a clear stream that emanates from the can.
The piece is titled "Perspectives: Past, Present and Future" and stands right in front of the school.
Mill Valley police say they are investigating this as a hate crime.
In late May, the same piece was also vandalized; two of the three doors were defaced with gray paint, the Marin Independent Journal reported.
The curator of the community art piece, Zoe Fry, told the newspaper this is not the first time racial justice artwork has been defaced in the city, but said this time the vandalism was more precise.
"The words were targeted," Fry told the IJ. "They didn’t just throw paint on it. … It feels like a hate crime."
The piece has three free-standing doors, with themes evoking the history of racism in southern Marin, racist experiences in the present day and inspirational messages about an equitable future.
Anyone with information should contact Detective Sergeant Shaun McCracken at smccracken@cityofmillvalley.org or by telephone at 415-389-4228. For anyone who wants to remain anonymous, tips can be left using the Mill Valley Police anonymous tip line by calling 415-721-4547.