By Victor Omondi
Police are looking for a man who threw a brick through the glass window of a restaurant in East Harlem, shattering a mural honoring Black History. The incident took place shortly after midnight on Monday. According to police, the shattered window featured a mural depicting important figures from black history such as and Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
The mural was painted by Danny Peguero, who says it took him time to come up with the masterpiece. Peguero wasn’t pleased to see his artwork shattered after putting so much to come up with it.
“I was upset with the time I spent on it, and for someone to do that,” Peguero said.
It’s not yet clear why the suspect decided to hit the restaurant’s window with a brick, but the police say the restaurant may have been targeted because of the painting. The police are investigating the crime as a hate crime and hope to find the suspect soon.
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However, the incident hasn’t interfered with the operations of the restaurant. The restaurant boss, Gisele Malave, says she is not going to allow hate to take over good. The restaurant is going to operate normally and people from all races are welcome to eat from there. She isn’t going to allow racism to freeze the operations of the restaurant.
“We are an establishment where we invite everyone of all races and genders,” Malave, the owner of the restaurant said.
“It’s saddening, it was such a pretty picture, and it will go back up, I’m confident in that,” she added.
The restaurant posted a photo of the damage on Instagram to let the online users know about the incident. In the meantime, no injuries resulted from the incident. Additionally, the suspect hasn’t been arrested yet, and anyone with information regarding the identity of the man is requested to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline.
Racism is still fresh in the society and it’s depicted by such incidences. Hate resulting from racial prejudice drives weird behaviors in some people. Why would someone crash a window simply because it has a painting of a black man? Is it to mean that the blacks don’t deserve to be remembered or recognized? Well, if that’s how far the roots of racial prejudice have gone, then the living are far from achieving racial equality.
Source: Man Throws Brick Through Harlem Restaurant Window Shattering Mural Honoring Black History
