A North Carolina record store is taking action to replace a Tina Turner mural that was recently defaced with a large Swastika in red paint. Employees at the Static Age Record store in Asheville said that the act of vandalism occurred after the store closed on Dec. 23, according to the Citizen Times.
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The hate symbol, which nearly covers the mural of the pop icon, was drawn incorrectly as three of the four arms are pointing counterclockwise. Nonetheless, the shop owner, Jesse McSwain, said that the mural was covered with a black sheet by someone who wasn’t connected to the store before he could address the incident.
“This is a widely inclusive, safe space,” McSwain said. “Hate speech will get you out the door. Occasionally some weird supremacist will rear their head around here. Not sure how organized this act was. Perhaps more organized than I’d like to think about.”
The store owner has since painted over the mural with black paint, and according to the Citizen Times, McSwain is considering “rotating in a new mural of the Israeli artist Charlie Megira.”
Static Age employees have notified the Asheville Police Department as well as the Southern Poverty Law Center.
A GoFundMe, which has exceeded its’ $800 goal by over $600, has been launched by McSwain to repaint the mural.
“On December 23rd, 2019, shortly after we closed our record shop, someone defaced our long standing mural of Tina Turner with a clear symbol of racism: a nazi swaztika. Hours later, a good neighbor obscured the symbol with a sheet off their own bed. We then painted over the mural so the community wasn’t subjected to its message,” the fundraiser reads in part.
The GoFundMe page continued, “We’d like to get a new mural up as soon as possible and move forward in a positive way. We do understand this is just part of a bigger issue and that we’re just one safe space among many, globally.”
Static Age Record store notes that they do not tolerate “hate of any form including discrimination based on race, gender identity, religion, physical ability or sexual orientation.”
In addition to raising money for painting materials and commission for the artist who will be repainting the mural, the business owner said that a donation will be made to the “Southern Poverty Law Center, to daily operations of the shop or to an organization of Tina Turner’s choice,” if she contacts the record store regarding the mural.
The incident is currently under investigation.
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