A church in Houston, the Texas city where George Floyd grew up, has seen its banners supporting the Black Lives Matter movement repeatedly vandalized. Its BLM flags have also been stolen over the past several months, Houston's FOX 26 reported.
The BLM flag at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston was placed about 10 feet off the ground and would have required some effort to steal, Reverend Colin Bossen told FOX 26. The church will replace its BLM flag.
"Right now is a time for dialog, not conflict. To me, it speaks to how polarized our country is right now and how some people are really taking great offense to something that is about basic human rights," Bossen said.
The First Unitarian Universalist Church of Houston is among several churches supporting the BLM movement that have faced vandalism in recent months.
A BLM banner at the Resurrection MCC Church was recently targeted for the second time in two months.
In July, the church reportedly received a voicemail from a woman who said: "I cannot believe that I just drove by your church and you have the sign of Black Lives Matter."
The day after that message was received, the word "Black" was found cut out from the church's BLM banner. A second banner was put up days later, but was stolen last month.
In Chicago, a sign put up at Hope Presbyterian Church in support of the BLM movement was found knocked over, while a sign supporting Jacob Blake, the Black man shot by a police officer in the Wisconsin city of Kenosha, was destroyed.
A church sign, which included a symbol supporting the LGBTQ community, was also partially burned.
Back in August in Massachusetts, two BLM signs and a mural were destroyed at the Calvary Church in Arlington, while a banner at the First Parish Unitarian Universalist of Arlington church was changed to read "ALL Lives Matter," according to a police statement at the time.
Protests erupted across the country this year as part of the BLM movement.
The movement was galvanized by the killing of Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer placed his knee on Floyd's neck for several minutes during an attempted arrest while Floyd cried: "I can't breathe." His death led to the arrest of the four officers involved in the incident.
Travis Cain, who told FOX 26 that he and Floyd grew up together and considers himself Floyd's older brother, said: "He [Floyd] was a sacrificial lamb. He did change the world. We are still fighting to get justice for him."
Floyd, who was born on October 14 in 1973, would have turned 47 this week.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Soo Kim is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. She covers various lifestyle stories, specializing in travel and health.
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