A Story of Anti-White Supremacy Art and a Karen With a Spray Can

An anti-racism mural goes up in Brooklyn. Three days later, it’s defaced. Take a wild guess who did it.

Bonsu Thompson

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Photo by Jose Cabaco

Last Friday afternoon, graphic artist Julian Alexander and creative producer Khadijat Oseni hosted a small curbside gathering at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. In attendance was a small collective consisting of various creatives from the intersecting worlds of art, media, fashion and advertising. All were present to watch the reveal of the latest mural installment for the Supremacy Project, a visual art campaign dedicated to articulating specific contextualizations of White supremacy.

The black-and-white mural consists primarily of a photo of the iconographic tribute to America’s founding fathers, Mount Rushmore. The intent of the photo selection is to remind onlookers of White supremacy’s original power brokers. Sprawled across the top half of the 19’ x 10’ piece is the word “Supremacy.” Its type face is an intentional hybrid of apparel and Hypebeast cult brand Supreme and the CVS pharmacy logo. A closer look reveals soaring military fighter jets. This particular detail takes aim at Donald Trump’s audacity (last July 4th, he hosted a rally at Mount Rushmore, where he had Blue Angel jets fly above during his speech), while bringing full circle the…

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Bonsu Thompson

Bonsu Thompson is a writer, producer, Brooklynite and 2019 Sundance Screenwriters Lab fellow.