Distress Flag Mural (public art)

Artist: Amos Gregory and deported veterans

Year: 2018

Date of Action: April-June 2018

Location: San Diego-Tijuana border

Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion

Confronting Bodies: United States Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) and Daniel Kitzman, a supervisory border agent for the San Diego Sector of the US Border Patrol

Description of Artwork: The Distress Flag Mural was created by Amos Gregory, a San Francisco-based muralist, community activist and disabled Navy veteran. He established the Veterans Mural Project, or Veterans Alley, in the Tenderloin District in attempts to highlight the adversities of US veterans.

In 2013, the artist collaborated with a group of 20 deported veterans to design a mural on the south side of the San Diego-Tijuana border wall, which is referred to as the Friendship Circle. Here, San Diego is separated from Tijuana by a pair of parallel running fences that are about 12-15 feet high and 40-50 feet apart. Friendship Circle, which is occasionally opened by the US Border, has become a meeting point for seperated families.

The painting depicts a distressed (inverted) US flag with crosses, representing the upsetting reality of nearly 70 veterans in Tijuana, Mexico. Following their discharge from the military, several veterans were convicted of crimes and subsequently deported. With this artwork, Gregory aimed to encapsulate the emotional, psychological and medical issues of these deported veterans, who cannot receive adequate treatment in Mexico.

The Incident: In April of 2018, following the President's visit near the California-Mexico border,

complaints prompted the USCBP to open a review of the 5-year-old mural.

Now, they say they are being told by the US government -- which owns the fence and the grounds near it -- to remove or alter the painted flag. The US Border Patrol said it has received complaints about some of the border art and is trying to decide whether they are graffiti or "intentional" murals. It says the paintings were applied without permission.

While questions arise over whether there is room for compromise, the man who first conceived of the design says he is refusing to change it. He says the federal government is trying to squelch free speech -- after five years of no formal objection.

"What we want to do is raise awareness around the issue of deported veterans. It's not about us trying to take on our own government or us trying to create imagery that's hostile toward the United States of America," said Amos Gregory, a San Francisco-based visual artist and a disabled US Navy veteran. He is a US citizen, and while he does not live in Tijuana, he periodically goes there to assist the veterans on other paintings.

He believes that the deported veterans mural is being intentionally targeted by USCBP because of its political message.

The National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) is urging United States Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) to respect the artistic expression of deported US military veterans and of a recognized public artist. USCBP is considering removing a protest mural on the border wall dividing San Diego and Tijuana, following a visit to the area by President Trump.

The flag painting is their distress signal, they say. But while they see it as a legitimate form of protest, displaying the American flag upside down is controversial. It can be interpreted as un-American and disrespectful.

NCAC has written to the San Diego Sector of USCBP to caution the agency against silencing veterans’ voices and censoring public art based solely on the work’s political message.

Joy Garnett of NCAC’s Arts Advocacy Program said, “This move is clearly politically-motivated and based on discomfort with the artwork’s message. All of the artists involved have served in the US military and chose to express themselves through this legitimate form of peaceful protest. To paint over this mural would effectively cover up a cogent reminder of deported veterans’ plight, removing an opportunity for public debate around this important issue.”

Results of Incident: Not provided yet.

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