A San Antonio mural honoring Black people killed by local law enforcement was defaced on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The vandalism was discovered Jan. 19 at the Greater Faith Institutional Church, located at 3514 Martin Luther King Drive. Black spray paint covered many of the faces and names on the mural.
The tribute titled, “Say Their Names” was completed in March 2025. Artist David Blanca’s creation, in collaboration with surviving family members and ACT 4 SA, stood as a memorial and a backdrop for San Antonio’s annual MLK Day march. The march honors the civil rights legacy and embraces the inclusivity San Antonio claims to value.
The defacement prompted outrage from family members and community advocates. “Say Their Names,” a mural on the East Side, was created to commemorate 14 residents who died in interactions with law enforcement or in-custody deaths, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
Family members and community leaders called the act deliberate and hateful, especially given the symbolic date of the vandalism.
Texas Public Radio spoke with Mel Naton, mother of Marquise Jones’s child, who spoke about the “disrespect” of the defacement. Jones was a victim of law enforcement and is memorialized in the mural.
“The fact that they did it on Martin Luther King Day adds more insult to injury, because these people, these are their loved ones, their significant others. … This is their memory,” Naton said.
The mural was intended to humanize those memorialized by depicting their faces and names. The vandalism struck at the heart of that purpose. Ananda Tomas, executive director of ACT 4 SA, said the specific damage appeared intentional and tied to prejudice.
“The fact that they went after the names and they went after the faces means they knew exactly what they were doing, and it was targeted,” Tomas said. “I
San Antonio leaders have said they plan to restore the mural and are fundraising for repairs, noting that the project cost about $20,000 to complete.
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