Prince William County and the Liberty Wall

Tensions have been high in the community of Manassas, VA. Gaudencio Fernandez, an American citizen who immigrated to the United States from Mexico in 1979, is seeking to combat issues of xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment through a piece of artwork in the form of a wall. The wall has writing comparing the anti-immigrant sentiment of today to racism, specifically that of the Ku Klux Klan and Jim Crowe Laws.

Local residents have raised complaints, ranging from building code violations (for the reinforcement of the wall’s base) to claims that it detracts from the nice image the rest of the community is trying to portray.

“It’s such a negative thing,” Joanne Wunderly, president of the Manassas Old Town Business Association, said. “When you see something calling you a racist, it takes away from the positive image you’re trying to portray.”

Lawrence Buchanan, who lives across the street from Fernandez’s sign, said: “You put KKK up there and you bring blood up in my face. “Why are you trying to bring that old stuff up again?”

(Source: Washington Post)

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