Sometime during the early morning hours of December 30, 2009, an unidentified vandal spray-painted racist graffiti on the side of Columbia, South Carolina’s city hall. What did the graffiti say? “No n*gger mayor die.”
This high-profile vandalization – which we condemned at the time as “another embarrassing incident for a city and state that can’t seem to escape reminders of its racist past” – prompted a furious response from Steve Benjamin, who at the time was the only black candidate running for mayor of Columbia.
“I was disgusted this morning to learn that what should be a symbol of inclusion in our representative democracy had been vandalized with bigotry and intolerance,” Benjamin said. “This is exactly why we need a new leader who can unify all of us behind a new vision for Columbia, and I am now more than ever dedicated to that cause.”
The story – broken by reporter Adam Beam of The (Columbia, S.C.) State – quickly turned into another embarrassing national black eye for the Palmetto State. Of course Benjamin profited from it handsomely – and three months later he was elected mayor of Columbia, S.C.
Anyway, a month after the incident we published a follow-up report highlighting how efforts to apprehend the vandal had reached a dead end.
“The story has all but disappeared from the public’s radar,” we wrote. “Additionally, the investigation into the incident has stalled. In fact, one city official told FITS that unless someone with knowledge of the crime came forward, the mystery was unlikely to ever be solved.”
Well this week, several sources with knowledge of the crime did step forward … and pointed the finger of blame at Benjamin. According to these sources, Benjamin’s campaign orchestrated the hit with the full knowledge, permission and support of the candidate.
Not only that – the spray painting graffitist was black, a bit of information we’ve been able to confirm independently.
So let’s get this straight: A black man acting under orders from a black mayoral candidate spray-painted the words “No n*gger mayor die” on Columbia’s city hall three-and-a-half years ago?
Yup … and he allegedly got paid to do so.
Stay tuned … we’ll have much more on this story in the coming days.
Sources: Mayor Planted "Racist" Graffiti » FITSNews
This high-profile vandalization – which we condemned at the time as “another embarrassing incident for a city and state that can’t seem to escape reminders of its racist past” – prompted a furious response from Steve Benjamin, who at the time was the only black candidate running for mayor of Columbia.
“I was disgusted this morning to learn that what should be a symbol of inclusion in our representative democracy had been vandalized with bigotry and intolerance,” Benjamin said. “This is exactly why we need a new leader who can unify all of us behind a new vision for Columbia, and I am now more than ever dedicated to that cause.”
The story – broken by reporter Adam Beam of The (Columbia, S.C.) State – quickly turned into another embarrassing national black eye for the Palmetto State. Of course Benjamin profited from it handsomely – and three months later he was elected mayor of Columbia, S.C.
Anyway, a month after the incident we published a follow-up report highlighting how efforts to apprehend the vandal had reached a dead end.
“The story has all but disappeared from the public’s radar,” we wrote. “Additionally, the investigation into the incident has stalled. In fact, one city official told FITS that unless someone with knowledge of the crime came forward, the mystery was unlikely to ever be solved.”
Well this week, several sources with knowledge of the crime did step forward … and pointed the finger of blame at Benjamin. According to these sources, Benjamin’s campaign orchestrated the hit with the full knowledge, permission and support of the candidate.
Not only that – the spray painting graffitist was black, a bit of information we’ve been able to confirm independently.
So let’s get this straight: A black man acting under orders from a black mayoral candidate spray-painted the words “No n*gger mayor die” on Columbia’s city hall three-and-a-half years ago?
Yup … and he allegedly got paid to do so.
Stay tuned … we’ll have much more on this story in the coming days.
Sources: Mayor Planted "Racist" Graffiti » FITSNews