Black Lives Matter sign defaced in Davenport

DAVENPORT - A "Black Lives Matter" sign on the lawn of Lynn Leslie was defaced with spray paint last weekend, marring the sign that Leslie said was meant to bring awareness to the goal of the BLM movement. A vandal sprayed over the word "black" and changed the word "matter" to a mis-spelled version of "murder" on the sign located along 3rd street in Davenport.

"The Black Lives Matter movement is about change, it is about acceptance, it is about forgiveness, it is about justice and equal opportunity," Leslie said. "The commitment to change can happen if we as a nation 'believe it' and wholeheartedly 'live it'."

Leslie said she hoped the sign would help others consider how "all lives matter."

"I believe that all lives matter and that was the reason for the sign," she said. "The issue, though, is that throughout our nation's and world history, people of color have often been excluded from this narrative. That is a fact."

Leslie said she reported the vandalism of the sign to the police and plans to repaint and repost the sign.

"I'm not going to be bullied into taking it down," she said.