King Center tagged with graffiti

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Vandals have sprayed graffiti at the historic King Center.

Enlarge photo

Hyosub Shin, hshin@ajc.com Taj Kamin, facility supervisor at The King Center, tosses an empty spray paint can left by vandals.

Enlarge photo

Hyosub Shin, hshin@ajc.com Taj Kamin, facility supervisor at the King Center in Atlanta uses a sprayer to clean graffiti from the east side of the center.

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Maintenance workers spent most of Wednesday power-washing the mostly white and light-blue paint off of the side of Freedom Hall that runs along Boulevard between Edgewood and Auburn avenues.

Security guards patrol the area, but a King Center communications staffer said no one knew about it until news media started calling.

“It’s a pain in the neck,” said Steve Klein, the center’s communications coordinator.

Klein said he doesn’t recall anyone tagging the center with graffiti before. It’s unclear who’s behind the tag art, which, in some cases, is a sign of marking someone’s territory and could show up again just to garner more attention.

People walking along Boulevard didn’t seem to notice the tag art or the workers trying to get rid of it. Some, however, were upset.

“This used to be the promised land,” said Ed Jackson, a New Jersey resident who lived in Atlanta in the 1980s.

“A lot of what Dr. King taught us was lost,” said Kevin Baxter.