Sunday, February 16, 2014

UFW Trademark Mural Touch Up And Preservation Campaign On Chavez Drive Succeeds

Before and after touch up campaign led by Hispanic News Network U.S.A. succeeds.

The UFW trademark symbol has been restored and touched up after news report and Facebook posting exposing vandalized mural gets quick fix action.

By H. Nelson Goodson
February 16, 2014

Milwaukee, WI - In less than 24 hours after a news report and Facebook posting by Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) went viral depicting a vandalized United Farm Workers (UFW) trademark mural, it brought quick action to touch it up. The UFW mural at the 1600 block of S. Cesar E. Chavez Drive was vandalized about four weeks ago and the City of Milwaukee Graffiti Program hadn't received any information about the vandalism until yesterday.
At least 20,000 vehicles drive through Chavez Drive everyday, over 147,000 vehicles per week and not one individual, resident, or any of the three Hispanic public officials elect, 12th District Alderman Jose Perez, 12th District Milwaukee County Supervisor Peggy Romo-West and 8th Assembly District Representative JoCasta Zamarripa and members of the Chavez Drive Business District Bid didn't even noticed or attempted to fix it. Ald. Perez is a member of the city's Anti-Graffiti Policy Committee.
Some might believe, that the elected officials and business leaders might be busy with other more important issues, then noticing that the neighborhood continues to deteriorate slowly and gradually. Graffiti has always been the initial sign of a neighborhood deteriorating and attracting crime.
Several concerned citizens in Milwaukee's South side neighborhood came forward when they noticed or became aware of the FB posting after it went viral. Julio Maldonado posted a comment that he was just appointed by the city to the Cesar E. Chavez Drive Business District and that the mural vandalism would be taken care off this coming week. Also Juarez Christella Cielo, a community activist working on the national Chavez Day initiative and Chavez statue on Chavez Drive after reading the HNNUSA FB posting, she took action by contacting the Milwaukee Graffiti Program's supervisor and alerted them of the vandalized mural on Chavez Drive. She later posted, "Owner will contact Artist for Touch up per Graffiti Program...Driving by today (Sunday) graffiti was removed in this cold weather." Christella also thanked HNNUSA for reporting the vandalized UFW mural.
Christella on Sunday notified HNNUSA and confirmed that the UFW mural had been touched up and submitted a photo. No one has taken credit for touching up the mural, but who ever did it made a great contribution to our community's environmental and neighborhood artistic beauty, including Christella, Maldonado and others who shared the FB posting that led to quick action.
State Representative Zamarripa (D) on Sunday thanked HNNUSA, she posted on FB, "thanks for bringing this to our attention" and also thanked Christella for reporting it to the city's Department of Neighborhood Services Graffiti Program.
In this case, the "Campaign to touch up and preserve the UFW trademark Mural" on Chavez Drive was a total success. On behave of HNNUSA, I personally thank all the good, caring and concerned citizens of Milwaukee's South side that made it happen. "Si se Puede" as Cesar E. Chavez would say.

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