NORTHAMPTON — Activist group Northampton Abolition Now is criticizing the city for taking down a mural in memory of George Floyd, which was set up on the doors of City Hall during a remembrance and protest on Tuesday.
In response, Mayor David Narkewicz said that while people are permitted to gather and protest in front of City Hall, they are not permitted to paint or paste materials onto the building or obstruct entryways.
The mural was created by a group of community members and “consisted of a large image of George Floyd surrounded by the names of too many others who have been murdered by the police,” Northampton Abolition Now, which wants the city to cut its policing budget by 50%, said in a statement.
“This memorial was made with love, and was created with the intention to remind city leaders of their commitments to make Black Lives Matter in Northampton,” the statement continued, “and why we need bold action to divest from policing and invest in a vision of care and safety that works for everyone.”
According to Narkewicz, the mural was made of wallpaper paste or a similar substance, and “literally sealed over the doors to City Hall.”
Additionally, he said, several phrases and “ACAB” were spray-painted onto the building, and one person was arrested on charges of vandalism and resisting arrest.
“City Hall is a building for the entire community,” Narkewicz said, “and we’re proud that it’s a place where people gather to express free speech … but that doesn’t extend to damaging the building or putting graffiti on the building, or trying to glue things onto the building that cover access doors.”
Northampton Abolition Now said that this action reflects poorly on the city’s values.
“We are disheartened that the city of Northampton would take this mural down less than one day after the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd,” the group said, “and see this action as a reflection of the misguided priorities of Mayor Narkewicz.”
The group said it understood that the doors were not in regular use, and that the mural posed no accessibility issues to anyone trying to enter the building.
“Additionally, it would have been easy to open the doors while keeping the mural intact,” the group said in its statement.
A spokesperson for Northampton Abolition Now could not be reached for additional comment on Wednesday evening.
The group also criticized Narkewicz’s proposed fiscal 2022 budget, which includes a 3% increase to the Northampton Police Department’s budget, and restated its call to defund the police by 50% while investing in community-led safety plans.
“In a city which professes a commitment to anti-racist and social justice values, this (increase) is unacceptable,” the group said.
Narkewicz has said that this increase to the police budget is primarily due to contractual pay increases.
Northampton Abolition Now is also calling for more funding for the Department of Community Care, which was allocated $423,955 in the budget. This department’s establishment was a top recommendation by the Northampton Policing Review Commission, but the allocation is “less than half of what it would need to truly get off the ground in the first year,” according to the activist group.
Narkewicz responded that the initial allocation is “a very meaningful investment in the first stage of setting up the department,” which is supposed to be operational by fiscal 2023.
“I believe that the budget I’ve put forward provides the resources necessary to do that,” he said.
The department would be independent from the Northampton Police Department and staffed with unarmed responders who would address nonviolent calls.
The remembrance ceremony and protest where the mural was created brought over 60 people to the steps of City Hall on Tuesday to honor Floyd and call for racial justice and public safety reform. The protest took place one year after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered Floyd by kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes.
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.