CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said they are investigating an incident surrounding the Black Lives Matter painting in uptown.
According to several videos from people in uptown, there appear to be tire marks on the painting. Police said they are "currently reviewing this incident to determine exactly how it may have occurred."
On Friday, the city tweeted saying South Tryon Street between Third and Fourth will be temporarily closed to vehicles so residents can enjoy the painting safely.
According to their page, the road closure went into effect at around 3 p.m. Friday afternoon.
The artists who got together to paint the painting said they will be fixing the damage around 9:30 a.m. Sunday. The artists said the City of Charlotte will be funding it.
Once Angie Cotteone saw the mural had been defaced, she felt compelled to act by scrubbing off the tire marks.
"It made me so mad the artists put so much work into this, it's for our city,” Cotteone said. "Black lives do matter."
Muralists that worked on the painting said they know the message behind the painting is still there.
"It didn't stop anything, everyone is still out here taking pictures, whatever he was trying to accomplish didn't work," muralist Garrison Gist said.
Muralist Kyle Mosher said the people that continued to come out to see the painting, tire marks and all, are a testament to the strength of the city and the movement as a whole.
The Black Lives Matter painting was created on Tuesday after the city reached out to a handful of local artists.
Taiwo Jaiyeoba, Assistant City Manager and Chief City Planner for the city of Charlotte tweeted, “I’m reposting again...imagine for a few minutes that we can “art-ify” the intersection of Trade and Tryon with “Black Lives Matter!” And leave it in that space for 2 weeks. Wouldn’t that send a strong message?!
Shortly after his tweet, he says Charlotte Mayor Vy Lyles gave him the go-ahead.
Jaiyeoba says the city quickly teamed with “Charlotte is Creative,” and together they found 17 local artists to participate. He says unlike the mural painted in D.C., each of the Charlotte artists were assigned a letter to create a unique individual design.
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