The ceramic bust, which depicts a smiling Taylor, was installed in downtown Oakland, near City Hall. The bust was attached to a base with a sign that said “Say her name: Breonna Taylor”.
But on Saturday, just two weeks after its installation, the sculpture was found in pieces. Pieces of the back and side of the bust were missing, and parts of Taylor’s ceramic face were chipped.
The Oakland Police Department has confirmed to CNN that it is investigating the vandalism, although it has not identified any potential suspects or motives.
Leo Carson, the artist who created the bust, told CNN that he considered it “an act of racist aggression aimed at suppressing the struggle for black freedom”.
He found that the bust was damaged in an Instagram message, he said, when a follower sent him an image of his broken pieces.
The act of vandalism was an affront to Carson’s motivation behind the seizure, which he said he created to “exalt and encourage protesters” when they met in downtown Oakland to organize against racism and injustice, he said. CNN.
To prevent future damage to Taylor’s bust, Carson plans to rebuild it in bronze with donations from the GoFundMe page, which has already surpassed its $ 5,000 target.
“The vandals wanted to intimidate and silence the Black Lives Matter movement, and this is a demonstration that they are few and we are thousands,” said Carson about achieving his fundraising goal.
Any remaining funds will be donated to the Taylor family, Carson wrote on the fundraising platform.