COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A $5,000 reward is being offered for information that could identify whoever is responsible for scrawling a racial slur across a mural meant to celebrate diversity in South Carolina’s capital city.
The vandalism was discovered last week on a mural covering a Columbia building owned by real estate firm Realty Haven, news outlets reported.
“We want the party to be held accountable, but we want to move on and keep the message positive,” Realty Haven CEO Lauren Taylor told The State this week.
The company commissioned the mural, which is titled “A Southern Affair.” The artwork features more than a dozen people from South Carolina, including a Black artist and a former Columbia postmaster.
Taylor said the mural also shows “silent solidarity” with racial justice efforts sparked by the death of George Floyd in May. Floyd, a handcuffed Black man, died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee against his neck for several minutes as Floyd lay face down on the ground.
The vandalism has since been repaired and the mural is set to be finished this month, news outlets said.
Authorities asked anyone with information about the vandalism to contact the Richland County Sheriff’s Department or Midlands Crime Stoppers.