Home / Full timeline / A Martin Luther King, Jr. portrait hanging in the Georgia State Capitol is defaced with a red ink pen by a Black woman.
A Martin Luther King, Jr. portrait hanging in the Georgia State Capitol is defaced with a red ink pen by a Black woman.
1974 (Jun 17)
A tour guide in the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta reported that the portrait of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., was defaced with a red ink pen. Although the portrait was only slightly damaged, it was removed immediately and placed with the artist, Paul Mandus, for repairs. Two days later, Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter announced that a Black woman who had a history of mental illness had marred the King portrait. The woman told state officials that she scribbled on the painting to show her respect for King. The incident was reminiscent of the stabbing King had suffered at the hands of a knife-wielding Black woman in 1958. The King portrait was the first of a Black Georgian to hang at the state capitol.
References:
- • Hornsby, Alton. Chronology of African-American History: Significant Events and People from 1619 to the Present. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995.