SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Local artist Kim Phillips continues her mission to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through public art, even as vandals target murals celebrating the civil rights leader across San Diego.
Phillips is currently working on a new mural at the MLK Recreation Center, where Saturday's MLK parade will conclude. The timing is intentional – she wants the artwork ready for the community celebration.
But Phillips is also advocating for the repair of another King mural that has been vandalized along the 94 Freeway, one of San Diego's most visible tributes to the civil rights icon.
"It's heartbreaking and devastating to see it in this condition," Phillips said.
She has alerted Caltrans about the damaged freeway mural, though she acknowledges the repair process involves bureaucratic steps that take time.
The freeway mural represents decades of community effort. Phillips said the process to create it began in the 1980s, and believes the project cost at minimum $50,000 to complete.
Phillips brings extensive experience to mural restoration. She has painted numerous murals around San Diego and started her own mural restoration group during the pandemic, when Black history murals became frequent targets of vandalism.
Her restoration work includes repairing murals of former President Barack Obama. She shared before-and-after photos showing her repairs to the damaged artwork.
"Reaching the vandalism the moment that it hits sends a strong signal that we're here, we're not going away, and we're not gonna stand for it," Phillips said. "As much paint as they have, we have even more."
Caltrans would need to hire someone like Phillips to repair the freeway mural. The agency has not yet responded to requests for comment about restoration plans.
Despite her disappointment with the vandalism, Phillips maintains compassion for those responsible.
"I feel like artists are being left out because that's an artist, but that artist obviously doesn't have a creative outlet or access to ownership, because if you own something in the city, you're way less likely to go spray up a building, why? Because you're busy being proud of being an owner, so we just need equity in more spaces for our communities," Phillips said.
Phillips hopes her murals will preserve Dr. King's legacy by "letting freedom ring through the murals."
