City to Unveil Restoration of Mural Vandalized with Racist, Anti-Semitic Graffiti

Back in early June, a mural honoring African American history was vandalized with racist and anti-Semitic graffiti at Dorsey Park, in Miami's historically Black Overtown neighborhood. Nearly three months later, the city has announced the restoration of the mural is complete, with the results to be unveiled in a ceremony at the park Wednesday afternoon. The event will include guest speakers, music, and a community celebration.

The mural, originally painted in 2011 by Kyle Holbrook's MLK Mural Project in collaboration with Moving Lives of Kids, Urgent Inc., and Touching Miami with Love, commemorates the legacy of Dorsey Park, which was once home to Miami's Ethiopian Clowns of the Negro Leagues and Black baseball players who were banned from playing in Major League Baseball. It stands at the corner of NW 17th St. and NW First Ave. and features images of legendary players Jackie Robinson and Minnie Miñoso. The mural was defaced with a swastika and the n-word*.

Holbrook, a local artist who has created more than 800 murals worldwide, immediately vowed to restore the work he created in tribute to Overtown’s history, the Negro Leagues, and Miami's African-American and Afro-Cuban culture. "This was an act of hate, but it will not define us," he said in a statement at the time.

In the artist's absence — he's on tour tending to international mural commissions — the restoration is being led by artist Alix Douyon. Marlins President of Business Caroline O’Connor, 1997 World Series Champion Charles Johnson, and City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez will attend the ceremony this afternoon and deliver remarks.

In a statement ahead of the event, Holbrook said, "Jackie Robinson and Minnie Miñoso each swung against barriers bigger than any pitcher, they swung against racism, against segregation, against invisibility. Their victories, like this mural, remind us that no matter the setback, we keep moving forward. That’s what Miami has always stood for."

*A link to the unblurred image of the defaced mural can be found in the photo caption above.

Mural Restoration Unveiling. 4 p.m. at Dorsey Park, 1701 NW First Ave., Miami; mlkmural.com.