VTDigger’s article Nov. 14 on Brattleboro’s incredible new mural art did a nice job highlighting the work of the Afghan ArtLords in beautifying the community.
But the way the article counterposed mural art and graffiti was unfortunate. Its framing of the murals as a solution to “spray-painted swear words, followed by a slapped-on coat of gray cover-up, followed by even more graffiti” reinforces a longstanding tendency to use the contributions of new immigrant populations as a way to cover up the dispossession of U.S.-born poor and racialized people.
Graffiti, like mural art, is a powerful act of resistance to that dispossession, and Brattleboro’s welcoming posture toward new arrivals cannot be an excuse to paint over the ongoing struggles of working class and BIPOC Vermonters. All our communities — new arrivals and already-locals — continue to struggle with the costs of housing, health care, heat and other basic needs. Casting graffiti as nothing more than an eyesore to be ignored and covered up won’t help those struggles.
Kate Paarlberg-Kvam
Brattleboro