A council contractor has apologized after painting over a mural of the late poet and actor Benjamin Zephaniah in Birmingham.
The painting was put up on the wall of an underpass in Hockley, central Birmingham, last month after Mr Zephaniah died in December at the age of 65.
A spokesperson for Kier, the council contractor tasked with removing the graffiti, said: “We accept the upset caused by our actions. Crews were carrying out their normal duties and there was no malicious intent. did.”
The Benjamin Zephaniah Family Legacy Group said it had received assurances from the council that the mural would be protected and was not happy to see it disappear and be replaced by a blank wall.
Zephaniah’s brother Tippa Naftali said the removal of the work “shows little respect for him and the community that cared for him.”
“This mural was a carefully crafted piece of art that took hours to complete and probably only minutes to destroy,” he says. told Birmingham Live.
He said Zephaniah’s family would ask the city council to place the piece in a “more prominent location”, adding that it was an “extremely beautiful piece of art” that had been abandoned in an underpass.
The removal of the mural sparked outrage in the city. Birmingham historian Carl Chin said it was a “disgrace” and a “negative gesture that shows a council disconnected and uncaring from its working-class neighbourhoods”.
Jagwant Johar, from Birmingham Race Impact Group, said this was “outrageous and further undermines the lack of community trust in the council, which is already at an all-time low”.
Birmingham City Council said Mr Keir was contracted to inspect the city’s subways every month and remove graffiti.
According to the paper, the Hockley subway also features a Grade II-listed concrete work by sculptor William Mitchell, which is subject to a protection order for the preservation of art, but the Zephaniah mural is subject to a protection order. It is said that it was painted on an outside wall.
A Kier spokesperson said: “We are working with Birmingham City Council to review our graffiti removal process with the aim of ensuring we take even greater care in the future.” We welcome the opportunity to work with artists and provide supplies to recreate artwork that represents Benjamin and his life. ”
Zephaniah, a poet and campaigner from Handsworth, Birmingham, died in December, eight weeks after being diagnosed with a brain tumor.
On Wednesday, his wife Qian Zephaniah issued a statement thanking the public for their messages of support since his death. “Last year, I became very ill and almost died. Benjamin stood next to me and helped me fight my illness, and I stood next to him and helped me fight my illness. ,” she said.
She said he left behind “an enormous legacy wrapped in love” and that the public would be kept informed of “the many great things that will happen in the name of the man we love.” He said he was deaf.
A large-scale official mural celebrating Zephaniah’s roots and work will be unveiled at Handsworth Park next week.
The work, commissioned by the Black Heritage Walk Network and created by graffiti artist Bunny Bread and cartoonist Hunt Emerson, depicts Zephaniah as a “champion of the people.”
Speaking about the Hockley mural, Bunny Bread told ITV: It’s very sad.
“I think he’s responsible for multiple murals, so I think they should be redone. But I think it’s unfortunate and ridiculous that it was removed in the first place.”
