Richmond Leaders Condemn Pro-Palestine Watermelon Mural

A mural in Richmond’s Brookland Park neighborhood has ignited a debate after it depicted a dark-skinned woman holding a slice of watermelon with seeds that spelled out “Free Palestine.” Local civil rights leaders say the image revives a hurtful stereotype from the Jim Crow era, while the artist and some activists argue it references Palestinian resistance. Community leaders are pushing for a conversation about context and consent, and the building also carries a visible “F*** ICE” message that has raised safety concerns for nearby students. The owner, neighborhood advocates, and critics are weighing options for a town hall to sort this out.

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The artwork sits on a prominent corner at Brookland Park Boulevard and North Avenue, and people in the neighborhood noticed it right away. Jonathan Davis, a former Richmond Crusade for Voters president, said the image was immediately troubling and voiced the historic pain tied to that iconography. “I was taken aback because of the imagery that it represents, a watermelon up to the mouth of a Black woman,” Davis said. “So to me, understanding the history of our people and what happened during the Jim Crow era and how those images were used to demean us and make fun of us and ridicule us and run us out of the business, it really bothered me.” (RELATED: Pro-Palestine Protesters Face Charges Nearly A Year After Campus Occupation)

Other local leaders echoed Davis’s unease and suggested a path that respects everyone’s concerns without erasing free expression. William McGee, president of the Richmond SCLC chapter, told residents the piece could be adjusted so it respects both anti-racist memory and solidarity with Palestinians. Activist Gary Flowers proposed replacing the watermelon with a Palestinian flag alongside a Black liberation flag, arguing the imagery should uplift without retraumatizing.

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The same building displays “F*** ICE” in a spot visible to students at nearby Richmond Community High School, and that message added an extra layer of worry for community members. Parents and leaders pointed out that schools and neighborhoods need spaces that feel safe and respectful, especially where kids pass every day. The profanity and political content together made some residents ask whether a more deliberate approval process should govern public-facing murals.

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The artist, identified as Lauren S., said any resemblance to racist caricatures was unintentional and described the watermelon as a symbol some Palestinians use when flags were banned. VCU professor Faedah Totah noted that the watermelon motif surfaced in 1967 as a coded symbol when the Palestinian flag was prohibited, and that historical tie matters to younger activists. Those explanations did not erase the immediate reaction among older residents who carry memories of how such images were used to mock and marginalize Black Americans.

Muralist Hamilton Glass framed the dispute as two histories colliding on the same wall and warned that both sides bring real wounds. “The truth is neither generation is wrong,” Glass said. “There are wounds from the older generation that the younger generation will never feel.” That admonition landed like a practical call: neither erasure nor indifference offers a solution, and community buy-in should guide public art.

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The building owner and opposition leaders have floated a town hall to collect input from neighbors and activists, and that meeting seems like the practical next step. For many residents the ask is straightforward: art that sits in a neighborhood should be chosen with the neighborhood in mind. A public conversation could clear the air and produce a design that acknowledges Palestinian solidarity while respecting Black history and everyday community life.