Cleanup efforts are well underway in downtown Austin after a weekend of protests marred by widespread acts of graffiti and vandalism. Volunteers and paid crews are picking up debris, power-washing, and covering up some of the graffiti.
Thousands of protesters rallied peacefully against racial injustice and police brutality, but some threw rocks, incited violence, and damaged property. Law enforcement say they are investigating the role of anarchist groups like Antifa in the weekend of violence throughout the U.S., including Austin.
Fearing looting, many downtown businesses boarded up their windows, while others were already boarded up since the COVID-19 lockdown.
While photographing downtown, we spoke to a paid cleaner who said he agrees with the aim of the protests but doesn’t see what graffiti or looting has to do with it. A volunteer who came down with her daughter says she runs a junk removal service as a living and came down to pick up trash, but decided to focus on cleaning graffiti instead after seeing the greater need.
The graffiti reflected a mix of messages supporting George Floyd and others who died in police custody, and anti-police messages, including some calling for violence. Communist symbolism, including the hammer-and-sickle, was also common in graffiti throughout the downtown.
