Lexington mural sparks controversy in community

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – A variety of murals are spread throughout downtown Lexington.

One mural on the side of a business on the corner of Sixth and Limestone has graced the building since 2014 and has recently raised concerns from at least one community member who says it’s offensive.

“This store is where the community, everybody comes to this store,” says Cottoyya Whitfield. “Nobody says nothing about this. Maybe I don’t know, does it concern them? I don’t know but it hit me deep in my gut.”

The mural in question depicts symbols from cultures on other continents, including paintings of a sphinx, Olmec heads, Moai statues, a Buddha head and a blackamoor. On Sunday night, Whitfield saw the blackamoor for the first time and was offended by it’s appearance.

“Black face, red lips, white eyes. Ok? That’s an insult. This is 2021,” says Whitfield.

Mural artist Pierce Birdsong says a blackamoor is a a dark-skinned noble and the particular character in his mural is based off a character from TV show “Dragon Ball Z”.

“My whole idea when I made this mural was to basically showcase different monuments that came from black civilizations,” says Birdsong.

Though Birdsong meant to honor black history, he recognizes art is open to interpretation and people can take things different ways.

“I really hope that they just paint over it and make something else beautiful because all the other murals are beautiful,” says Whitfield. “This one is like it’s a 3-D standing out in the corner and it’s just unacceptable today.”

Birdsong says the blackamoor acts as the glue to his mural and there is history behind his piece for everyone to learn.

“The whole blackamoor thing is one of those things where it was taken and kind of used as some sort of fallacy against black people,” says Birdsong.