The young person asked me not to use her name (or his, and respecting that, I won't disclose the gender) because technically, the act could be considered a misdemeanor. But if it is, then prosecute away, and I'll gladly serve as a character witness.
"My first thought was to cover it up and see if they do it again," the person said of the ethnic slur and Confederate flag, spray painted in red on the Un-Fair Campaign's billboard at Sixth Avenue East just above Fourth Street.
At about 1 a.m. Friday morning, cover-up is what this young person did, using white paint to get rid of the words "NO NAGGERS" and the flag symbol, leaving the original message, "Racism: Ignore it and it won't go away."
But afterward, she -- or he -- thought twice about it.
"My second thought was why didn't I get red spray paint and do something creative and funny with it?" -- like maybe add or change a letter to make it a campaign against waggers or snaggers.
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Either way, give that young person credit for creative thinking and quick action, which on both counts is more than I can say for the response of the Un-Fair Campaign, whose leaders didn't seem to know of the vandalism until called by a News Tribune reporter about 6 p.m. Thursday, hours after it had occurred.
"We will not tolerate racist slurs," Ellen O'Neill, executive director of the Duluth YWCA and the campaign's primary spokeswoman, told the DNT reporter. She then asked to speak to me, suggesting a different type of cover-up.
If the News Tribune published the story and the photo, O'Neill said, the paper would be practicing "unethical journalism."
"Unethical?" I asked.
Yes, she replied, saying the defacement was offensive and we shouldn't publish it -- never mind that doing so was in complete accordance with the billboard's original message.
I don't know if the conversation left me more dumbfounded or appalled, but regardless, I wasn't alone. Afterward, I heard from other Duluth residents of color expressing frustrations with the Un-Fair Campaign for putting provocative messages into the open forum and leaving people of color to deal with the consequences.
One example was the lack of a coherent message or leadership from the campaign when white supremacists came to Duluth in March in response to their first billboard messages. Another is the current flap, with the selection of a billboard in the East Hillside rather than in Lakeside or Hermantown, for a campaign specifically intended to sensitize white people.
Not to mention choosing a billboard easily at arm's height.
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While others talked about it, the unnamed young person acted and removed the graffiti. Later on Friday, the billboard company followed up, at the campaign's request, replacing the Un-Fair ad with one from the Marines. Let's see if anybody messes with that.
Yet that move symbolizes defeat, giving the vandals exactly what they wanted. It's another instance of the Un-Fair Campaign retreating without a plan when things get hot.
Ricky DeFoe, a member of the Duluth American Indian Commission, suggested a more empowering response: For Northlanders of all colors to gather at the billboard, pose for a picture, take a collection and purchase the spot to post the picture, showing what Duluth really looks like, the unity we stand for and the hate we stand against. This gathering occurred at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Editor's note: At a rally on Sunday at the site of the billboard that had been defaced, Ellen O'Neill shared the following steps the leadership of the Un-Fair Campaign took regarding the racial slur spray-painted on the billboard:
When notified by the News Tribune that the billboard had been defaced, a statement was given to the paper. The Duluth Police Department also was called and it was reported as a hate crime. The billboard company was contacted to find out what its policy is when a billboard has been defaced. The company does not allow defaced billboards to stay up and it was taken down and replaced with something they had on hand. The Un-Fair billboard will be replaced in another location as soon as it can be reprinted. The billboard company chooses the locations based on availability. In addition, at the rally Sunday it was decided that a reward would be made available in an effort to find who did this. It was agreed that as a community we cannot allow hate to go un-noticed, un-named and unpunished.
Robin Washington is editor of the News Tribune. He may be reached at rwashington@duluthnews.com
