BK Families Search For Justice After Removal Of Diversity Mural

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — Families from a Park Slope school where a mural celebrating diversity was taken down earlier this year will not rest until the student-made artwork is returned — and the administrators behind its removal are held accountable.

The quickly-growing group, which has started a Mural Justice Project to advocate for its demands, called this week for a public apology from the two principals and District 15 Superintendent Anita Skop, who took down the mural from the P.S. 295 cafeteria over the summer.

The removal — brought on by concerns about the "inclusiveness" of the artwork, which included messages like "Black Trans Lives Matter" and images of multi-racial hands clasped together — was the last straw in what staff and parents say is a problematic culture in the leadership at the school.

"That secret mural takedown is representative of the disrespect and mistreatment that is endemic in our schools, particularly [for] those who are people of color or members of LGBTQ+ communities," Elton Dodson, one of the parents leading the project, said Wednesday.

"We are prepared to take all reasonable measures to demand accountability from the top-down on the mural takedown, to obtain the reforms we desperately need and to build the equity necessary for all students to excel."

Wednesday's town hall meeting comes several weeks after the Mural Justice Project first launched a fundraiser aimed at selling t-shirts and masks featuring the destroyed artwork, which was created by six fifth-graders through a program with local arts organization Groundswell last year.

The students, many of whom spoke at the town hall, spent 14 weeks exploring the question "What is the future we want to create?" while learning about the power of murals, mutual aid and social justice, according to lead artist Lexy Ho-Tai.

The mural was eventually installed in July, but taken down within days given concerns from P.S. 295 Principal Lisa Pagano and Principal Frank Giordano of New Voices Middle School, which shares a building with P.S. 295, according to staff. The removal was supported by Skop, staff said.

Among the concerns were that the message "Black Trans Lives Matter" be replaced with a more generalized sentiment like "Hate Has No Home Here" and that the mural was generally "not inclusive enough,"said Joan Radigan, a staff member who was on a text chain with administrators the day the mural went up.

"This was not about protocol, it was about content," Radigan said.

An email from Patch sent to Pagano, Skop and the district went unanswered Thursday.

Controversy surrounding the mural removal has been ongoing in the months since, including a battle of protest messages in sidewalk chalk outside the school that were recently met with "All Lives Matter" and other graffiti.

Families and staff said Wednesday that the culture — which had some teachers joining the meeting fearing retaliation — proved the need for more drastic measures than simply replacing the mural.

Among their demands are an investigation into what happened, a change of leadership at the schools and professional development surrounding anti-racist, anti-bias education.

The demands have gained support from Council Member Carlos Menchaca, who said Wednesday that he and other elected officials on the call would write a "letter of solidarity" to send to school and city leaders.

"I believe in the power of art and especially when you give the opportunity for young people to express themselves — that's what we're talking about — and that art was destroyed," Menchaca said. "...The demands have been made clear."