A student's BLM mural was torn down. Her tweet of frustration struck a chord.

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For Gracie Staser's art project, the sophomore created a mural Monday with a Black Lives Matter theme, only to have it torn down from a main hallway wall at Apex High School less than an hour later.

She tweeted about her frustration on Tuesday, showing a picture of the mural opposite a blank wall marked by a Post-it note that read, "Here Lies Free Speech." By Friday, more than 2 million people had seen the tweet.


In just a few days, Staser's mural and post sparked a viral online forum about art, race, free speech and when educators should step into such racially charged situations.

Staser said she spent a month on the project that had been approved by the school's administration. It takes up a large part of the wall, depicting white police officers on one side, black victims of police violence on the other and the title in large letters, "My Blackness is Not a Weapon."

Pictures of the slain black men appear in an outline of a large gun while an outline of an equal sign has a slash through it. The work draws particular attention to Stephon Clark, the 22-year-old shot by police in Sacramento, Calif., while unarmed in his grandmother's yard.

"I just really felt strongly about what had happened, and if it should have happened," said Staser in an interview at her home Friday afternoon. She noted that Clark's case especially affected with her.

"People weren't talking about it," said Staser, 15. "People weren't angry about it like I was. He became a Twitter moment, and that was it."

Meanwhile, a video posted online showed a male student in a backpack and baseball cap pulling the mural apart.

On Thursday, Apex High student Mason Stewart, 16, told ABC11 that he was the student who tore down the project because he found it offensive, especially because it displayed a large gun on school grounds. He said the gun is insensitive in a period with frequent school shootings. He said he reported his feelings to teachers.

"Right when I saw the gun go up, that's when I complained," he said, "and it's still up here since Monday so I tore it down. ... It was very offensive and it's pointing fingers to cops, and more likely white officers. And I have a lot of respect for officers because their job is not easy."

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This guy tore down the artwork of other students about police brutality today. Artwork that had been approved by the administration. This is the same guy who brought an All Lives Matter poster and “don’t tread on me” flag to our school walkout. Im just so done w ppl like this pic.twitter.com/1ElGj7szVw

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