Palo Alto BLM Street Mural Stirs Controversy: Report

PALO ALTO, CA — A national police advocacy group is pushing for the removal of a section of a Black Lives Matter street mural in Palo Alto that depicts a Black Liberation Army member and fugitive who was convicted of killing a police officer, The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Assata Shakur was convicted in 1977 for the 1973 murder of a New Jersey State Trooper. Shakur escaped prison in 1979 and in 1984 fled to Cuba, where she was granted asylum.

The National Police Association has launched an online petition pressuring city officials remove Shakur’s image, which is part of the 245-foot by 17-foot mural painted on Hamilton Ave. in downtown Palo Alto next to City Hall.

An image depicting Shakur appears in the letter “E” in the last word of the Black Lives Matter mural.

An awesome #BlackLivesMatter mural in nearby Palo Alto. It’s controversial because the final E features a portrait of Assata Shakur (referred to on the news report as Joanne Chesimard, “suspected of living in Cuba”). Needless to say cops are up in arms. pic.twitter.com/fMBdg9MUvL
— Left I on the News (@leftiblog) July 9, 2020

Shakur was the first woman ever placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list, the report said.

The NPA petition includes a statement saying the mural creates a hostile work environment for police.

The statement compares it to the idea of depicting in front the San Francisco mayor’s home the image of former San Francisco Supervisor Dan White, who assassinated Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the report said.

“… the atrocity of the celebration of a fugitive convicted cop killer in front of Palo Alto’s City Hall is equally reprehensible,” the petition says.

“For law enforcement required to enter the building is there any description other than a hostile work environment?”

Palo Alto Mayor Adrian Fine told The Mercury News he believes depicting a convicted cop killer’s image in front of City Hall “sucks,” but said city officials have no plans to remove it.

“But let’s be clear, Black lives in America have been punished, beaten and murdered for centuries,” Fine told The Mercury News.

“I mean it sucks. This stuff is hard. I will definitely send a mention out to Palo Alto cops saying that I’m sorry this happened. All that said, we have work to do with eliminating racism in local government. I want to be a part of that.”

Read more in The San Jose Mercury News