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In June, the chief of police in Selah, Washington, sent a letter to Laura Perez’s home warning her that if the “graffiti” on the pavement in front of their house continued to appear, her son would be referred to municipal court for prosecution, she says.
The graffiti the chief referred to was chalk art supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
Selah Alliance For Equality (SAFE), a grassroots community group, says that kind of treatment is indicative of the way the city and its top officials have responded to their local campaign to promote social and racial justice and the organization is suing because of it.
SAFE and eight of its members, including Perez, are taking the city, its mayor, and administrator to court for removing the organization’s Black Lives Matter signs and chalk art and subjecting them to regulations they say others are not held to.
The group claims the unfair treatment is violating their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and their Fourteenth Amendments rights to equal protection under the law, and they want a judge to put an end to it.
“For much of this year, the city has selectively enforced its laws resulting in the repressing of constitutionally protected speech, which has directly contributed to rising local animus and tension,” lawyers for the group wrote in a lawsuit filed against Selah Mayor Sherry Raymond and City Administrator Donald Wayman in federal court on Monday.
Residents of Selah began demonstrating for racial justice and against police brutality, and putting up Black Lives Matter signs and chalk art, in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer on May 25. The killing touched off hundreds of similar protests nationwide.
“In Selah, hundreds of residents participated in peaceful protests. They marched; chalked messages and artwork on streets, sidewalks, and private driveways; and submitted comments to City Council meetings critical of city leadership,” the lawsuit says. “City officials responded by deploying street cleaners to erase the chalked messages and by censoring public comments from City Council meetings.”
That’s when several residents formed SAFE, outlining its mission as being anti-racism, pro-equality and “to identify and hold the city accountable for its tacit support of racial animus and antagonistic leadership,” the lawsuit states. Members began putting up signs supporting Black Lives Matter and opposing Wayman, even calling for his removal.
The administrator had been publicly critical of the movement, according to the lawsuit.
The signs, according to SAFE’s lawyers, were placed on private property or in public places alongside political and other community campaign signs. Only the SAFE signs were removed by city workers, the lawsuit claims. That amounts to content-based restrictions, which are unlawful, SAFE’s legal team is arguing.
“This unequal application, particularly considering defendants’ open opposition to SAFE’s mission … provides powerful evidence that defendants unconstitutionally removed SAFE’s signs based on the content of their messages,” the lawsuit claims, “and were motivated by malicious intent or acted with reckless and callous indifference to [their] constitutional rights.”
Wayman and Raymond have publicly admitted removing signs – Raymond reportedly said she found the ones targeting Wayman “offensive” – and Wayman allegedly encouraged other Selah residents to do the same, the lawsuit says.
In addition to Perez, SAFE members Courtney Hernandez, Rev. Donald Davis Jr., Anita Callahan, Kalah James, Charlotte Town, Amanda Watson, and Anna Whitlock are participating in the lawsuit.
For her part, Hernandez told KNDO, the local NBC news affiliate in Yakima, that she supports SAFE because she wants her city to be more tolerant and inclusive, not less. Her own experience growing up Black in Selah was difficult, and she often encountered systemic racism racial profiling, she says.
“We just want Selah to be a place that is welcoming to all people, regardless of race,” she was quoted by the station as saying. “Protesting and voicing our opinions are not crimes, and shouldn’t be treated like they are.”
Has your city or town treated local Black Lives Matter signs, activists, or demonstrations differently than other community efforts? Tell us about it in the comment section below.
The Selah Alliance for Equality and member plaintiffs are represented by Carolyn Gilbert, Reina Almon-Griffin, Jane E. Carmody, and Jacob Stillwell of Perkins Coie LLP, and Antoinette M. Davis, Nancy Talner, and Crustal Pardue of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington Foundation.
The Chalk Art Lawsuit is Selah Alliance for Equality, et al. v. City of Selah, et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-3228, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
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3 thoughts onCity Sued for Targeted Removal of Black Lives Matter Signs, Chalk Art
This image is taken from Charlotte, NC.
It IS graffiti !!! Should every household be allowed to paint the street with whatever subject they want?????
Of course not! Then neither should BLM supporters!
Chalk art is NOT graffiti. It’s not vandalism. it washes away with water. Instead of making a big fuss about it, just pour water over it. If it was hopscotch or a rainbow, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Let’s be honest about what’s truly bothering you. It’s the message you’re upset over, not the so-called graffiti.