An investigation is underway after a mural of a Philadelphia civil rights activist was vandalized with a racial slur.
Neighbors found the words “F-k N----z” spray-painted on the Cecil B. Moore mural on the 1400 block of Bouvier Street in North Philadelphia Saturday morning.
"Saw that somebody had wrote that with an arrow pointed at Cecil B. Moore," Lyric Lewis told NBC10. "I was just shocked when I saw that."
Police told NBC10 they were aware of the vandalism and are investigating. City council president Darrell Clarke is also sending a crew to clean the graffiti off.
No arrests have been made and police have not released a description of any suspects.
Born in 1915, Cecil Bassett Moore was a Philadelphia lawyer, civil rights activist, local NAACP president, World War II veteran and member of the Philadelphia city council. He led the movement to desegregate Philadelphia’s Girard College and was also involved in the integration of schools and trade unions.
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"Why would they do that to a great man?" Lewis asked. "He was a lawyer. He was a husband. He was a soldier. He was a good man."
Moore died in 1979 at the age of 63. A street and a subway stop in Philadelphia are named in his honor.
“I firmly denounce this egregious and hateful attack on black culture and pride,” Democratic Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-181) wrote in a statement. “I will be reaching out and working with Mural Arts Philadelphia to do what we need to fix this. Cecil B. Moore is an integral part of our history, a man whose courage to take on hatred and inequality as a civil rights leader inspired a generation to follow in his footsteps. This vandalism should serve as a reminder that our fight is far from over.”
If you have any information on the vandalism, please call Central Divisions at 215-686-3093/3094. You can also leave a tip by calling 215-686-TIPS (8477) or email tips@phillypolice.com.
