Murals honoring groundbreaking MLB Hall of Famers Jackie Robinson and Minnie Miñoso were defaced with racial slurs and swastikas in Miami this week.
The Miami Police Department was notified of the crime on Monday and the department’s special investigations unit is investigating the incident as a hate crime, an officer told The Athletic on Friday.
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The graffiti consists of swastikas painted on both men’s face, with the N-word also used twice on Robinson. The murals, which are located at Dorsey Park of Miami’s historically black Overtown neighborhood, have since been covered up with wooden boards.
Dorsey Park played host to several barnstorming Negro League teams in the 20th century. The artist behind the murals promised to restore them in a statement to The Athletic:
“This was an act of hate, but it will not define us,” said Kyle Holbrook, the artist who painted the mural in 2012 as part of the MLK Mural Project in partnership with local artists. “This mural was born from a community’s pride, history, and power. We will restore it — stronger, bolder, and with even more purpose. Black history is American history. And no spray paint can erase that truth.”
U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), whose district includes Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, denounced the “vile act of hatred” in a statement Wednesday:
“This act of vandalism is not only an attack on a piece of public art—it is an attack on the dignity, pride, and cultural heritage of the Overtown community and the countless individuals who have fought and continue to fight for racial justice.
“We must treat this for what it is: a hate crime meant to instill fear and division. But we will not be intimidated. We will respond with unity, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to truth, justice, and the preservation of our history.”
Robinson and Miñoso both occupy pioneering roles in not just MLB history, but in the fight for civil rights. Robinson broke baseball’s color with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, while Miñoso was the first Afro-Latino player in MLB and the first Black player in the history of the Chicago White Sox.
Both men played in the Negro Leagues. Miñoso died in 2015 and was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022.
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