HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Huntsville police confirmed Tuesday an investigation is ongoing into the vandalism of a mural in the MidCity entertainment district. The mural, which depicts music legend Little Richard, was marked with what investigators called "hateful graffiti."
Police said they received a call early Tuesday morning regarding the vandalism. "The City does not tolerate any form of racist, anti-Semitic language or behavior," the department said in a written statement.
FOX54 has chosen not to publish photos of the desecration.
No arrests have been made at this time. If anyone has information on the crime, they are asked to call 256-722-7100.
The 40' x 30' mural is situated near the Wahlburgers restaurant and is an homage to the singer's colorful personality and performance style. The mural was painted by Logan Tanner.
Tanner released a statement about the vandalism, which reads as follows:
It's disappointing but it's an outward symptom of an inner sickness, and the more subtle forms of racism in our society are what are truly insidious. In hiring, in housing, in policing, and in the narratives we choose to elevate. The person who vandalized these murals could be a fully radicalized adult, they certainly exist in our communities, but it may also be an ignorant teenager. Right now there's a movement to suppress narratives about the black experience in America in our schools, and when we do that we raise white boys with no empathy who do hateful things like this- and worse.
Born Richard Wayne Penniman, the singer attended Oakwood University in the late 1950s, and had a high-profile concert in Huntsville at the 1994 Big Spring Jam. More than 15,000 people attended, according to the City of Huntsville's profile on the artist.
His list of honors and accolades include inductions in the NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.
Little Richard died in 2020 at the age of 87 in Tullahoma, Tennessee. He is buried at the Oakwood Memorial Gardens in Huntsville.
The mural at MidCity was completed a few months after his passing.