Election Signs Turned Into Racial Unity Messages

CHICAGO, IL - Those who have passed through Beverly over the last few days may have noticed a few heartwarming messages greeting them at certain spots in town and in front yards throughout the neighborhood. Several signs have been posted with phrases like "Love Each Other" and "We've Got Love Power." They come from re-purposed campaign signs one woman scooped up after the primary election last month.

Dawn Liddicoatt of Beverly said she got the idea on Election Day when she saw "so many signs just cluttering up the neighborhood." The next day she grabbed as many as she could, covered them in white paint and then painted messages on both sides.

One side of the signs have general uplifting messages like "One Love" and "One Heart" while the other side promotes racial equality with statements like "Black Lives Matter" and "Multi-Racial Unity."

"I feel very strongly in fighting racism and promoting multi-racial unity," said Liddicoatt, a ceramic artist whose lived in Beverly for more than 30 years. "That's the kind of life I want to live. To live a life of diversity."

That's surely evident in the signs.

Liddicoatt said she first placed signs in public places with positive song lyrics on them. She placed them in prominent areas like 95th Street, Longwood Drive and in front of the Beverly Unitarian Church (Chicago's only Castle).

But within days, her signs were removed.

She tried again, making more signs with other song lyrics on them and putting them in other public places.

Again, the signs were taken.

"I think it's lousy that these get pulled," she said. "This is something positive we have. Positive words."

Liddicoatt says she's now in what she calls "Phase III" of the project, where she's making signs for people in certain local online groups who request them.

Now, more than 20 neighborhood residents have them. Some sport the messages of love in their front yards.

"When people request signs, I ask for their address and I go there and place them myself," Liddicoatt said. "So even though they know it's coming, they don't know when, so it's kind of like a little pleasant surprise when they see it on their lawn."

Top photo provided by Dawn Liddicoatt