Mural supporting Black lives defaced with markings of white supremacist group in Raleigh

Vandals scratched out names of Black men and women honored by the mural and stamped their own branding all across the surface. They also left messages like "Better dead than red" and "Reject poison." Last year, they had also left a painting of the United States, which read: "Not stolen. Conquered."

When artist Muslimah Shareef first saw the graffiti over her mural, she dropped to her knees.

Then, she vowed to repaint it as many times as necessary.

She originally painted the mural in the wake of police shootings and protests that sparked after the death of George Floyd. On it, she painted the names of Black lives that had been lost.

"When someone passes, when you still say their name, they still live right? They are still living in your spirit," she said. "So for someone to just come and essentially X out their names. You're disrespecting them all over again."

The mural, called "I am Her and He is Me," is painted just outside the gates of Shaw University. Behind it stands the historic Estey Hall – the first structure ever built for the higher education of Black women in the United States.

It's a college historically known to have empowered the Black community in Raleigh. Shareef is particularly angry that the students at Shaw should have to be exposed to the hate – and she is also concerned for their safety.

"It's even worse because it's in front of Shaw University. The students have to come out here 24-7. They are young. They shouldn't have to see this. They shouldn't have to go through this," she said.

Mural defaced near Shaw University

Incidents involving stamps, stickers or markings related to Patriot Front have been growing around the US, especially near college campuses, and even in NC.

The stickers said, "For the nation against the state."

According to their report: "College campuses were targeted with white supremacist propaganda in 630 incidents, nearly double the 320 cases in 2018, the ADL tally found. Propaganda was found and reported on 433 campuses across 43 states and the District of Columbia in 2019, the report said."

According to Oren Segal, ADL's vice president for the Center on Extremism, the propaganda features "veiled white supremacist language with a 'patriotic' slant" and targets "minority groups including Jews, Blacks, Muslims, non-white immigrants and the LGBTQ community."

When the mural was first defaced back in October, Shareef said she had a strong feeling it would happen again.

"I can paint over it, and it would still happen again," she said. "But the change has to start somewhere and I'm willing to do that. I'm willing to keep doing it over and over and over again."

The vandalism is painful, but she said it makes her resolve even stronger.

"This is not going to stop me," she said. "You keep going. You don't stop."