A cleanup effort got underway Sunday morning to clear a vandal's attempt to defame a sculpture of George Floyd in New York City's Union Square.
The larger than life Floyd was vandalized with a smattering of blue paint around 10 a.m., according to the NYPD.
Police in the Manhattan precinct where the art piece is positioned recovered surveillance video showing a vandal mixing paint behind the sculpture before throwing it and riding off on a skateboard.
The vandalism done to Floyd's statue Sunday morning is not the first public attack on art in the man's likeness. A smaller statue unveiled in Brooklyn over the summer was similarly attacked with paint by vandals.
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Floyd's sculpture was one of three prominent Black figures unveiled late last week in Union Square, the site of many protests in the past year. His likeness sits next to statues of late Congressman John Lewis and Breonna Taylor.
The group behind the art installation hopes to call attention to the fight against racism and advance the cause of civil rights.
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"I miss my brother," Terrence Floyd said to a crowd gathered for Thursday's unveiling. "What happened to my brother was the straw that broke the camels back."
The man who sculpted the statues says his work is intended to encourage people to sincerely reflect on the experience of people of color, those who have experienced injustice and those who have fought for equity and fairness.
"Art creates an environment for civil discourse. We can talk about our differences and maybe even come to some understanding of each other's perspectives," artist Chris Carnabuci said at the unveiling.
The "SEEINJUSTICE" exhibition will be on public display at the square for one month and is intended to "to raise awareness of racism and actions for correction."
