Chalk artists Oscar Servin (left) and Lakey Hinson (right) work on a mural honoring Juneteenth at the Pearl on Monday. Credit: Tricia Gronnevik

A San Antonio chalk artist who grabbed headlines last week after being wrongfully arrested in Leon Valley is now accusing the Pearl of racism after workers at the downtown development removed his Juneteenth-themed mural featuring the names of unarmed Black men killed by police.

“This isn’t a good look for the Pearl right now,” Tricia Gronnevik, a local political activist who helped facilitate the mural by visual artist Lakey Hinson, told the Current. “They’re not looking very diverse in a community like San Antonio. And I really think everybody in Texas needs to know that a company and an institution like the Pearl is racist.” Pearl officials defended the power washing of the mural, saying the dining and shopping destination is private property. Further, they argue the problem wasn’t the content of the artwork but that the creators failed to go through the proper channels before chalking it onto the concrete.

“We’re private,” Pearl Chief Marketing Officer Michael Joergensen said. “Candidly, we try to treat it largely like public — obviously, on any given day, there’s dozens and dozens of people taking pictures here and doing things here — but it’s just one of those things [where] we just like to know what’s going on.”

Hinson and a pair of colleagues took a two-hour city bus ride to the Pearl on Monday to create a chalk art mural to celebrate Juneteenth. The large rainbow-colored creation featured a clenched fist holding a flower with the names of unarmed Black men killed by law enforcement scattered around the focal point. They positioned their work beneath the overhang of the Cellars apartment building near the Pearl’s Bottling Department food hall.

“We had spoken to the property manager of the Cellars residences and the security guard, and they were fine with it,” Hinson said. “Throughout the seven hours that we were working on it, multiple security people walked by. People stopped and talked to us, and we seemed to all have positive interactions throughout the whole day.”

Gronnevik, who was also at the Pearl Monday, said that the woman working the front desk of the apartment building seemed excited about the mural, even bringing Gronnevik, her daughter and Hinson up to one of the building’s balconies so they could get an aerial view.

Hinson and his pals wrapped up at around 9 p.m. Monday. They planned to return the next morning to add finishing touches and even invited members of the media to take a look.

However, when Hinson arrived at the Cellars on Tuesday, the artwork commemorating the struggles of Black Americans had been blasted away with a power washer.

“I doubt that they power wash the sidewalk every day, because when we got there on Monday there was a dead bird smashed into the cement,” he said. “Maybe that had just happened that day, but it looked like it had been there for awhile.”

Sticking to policy

Pearl’s Joergensen said workers art the Pearl were simply adhering to policy when they removed the artwork. Although Hinson and his crew sought permission from the Cellars and several Pearl security guards, Joergensen said that they failed go through the proper channels.

The “Frequently Asked Questions” tab on the Pearl’s website includes two paragraphs stating that artists need permission to create installations there. The statement also says that members of the media must request permission to film and take photos 48 hours prior to their arrival.

Even if Hinson had sought permission from the Pearl prior to embarking on the mural, Joergensen said he wouldn’t have allowed the artist and his crew to create it in front of the Cellars. Residents of the high-end building expect the area to be kept clean, he added.

The mural washed away by the Pearl on Tuesday included the names of unarmed Black men who have been killed by law enforcement in recent years. Credit: Tricia Gronnevik

“I mean, those are luxury apartments,” Joergensen said. “So, even if we would have had a conversation before, the advantage that place had is it’s been 110 degrees every day, and it’s in the shade. But the other thing I would have said is, ‘Yeah, guys, that’s not the best place to do that because of the people that live [there] … ya know?”

Indeed, Joergensen said the decision to wash away the chalk was a result of the mural not being cleared with higher-ups at the development.

“As is the case every morning here, we have a cleaning crew that comes through, and because we didn’t know about it, we didn’t know that there was something to protect or something we needed to give special guidance to,” he added.

Keeping it clean

Hinson and Gronnevik argue that the Pearl’s decision to remove the artwork was politically motivated and likely came from the top, noting that the Christopher “Kit” Goldsbury, the CEO of Pearl developer Silver Ventures is a prominent Republican donor, who has contributed to former President Donald Trump.

Indeed, Goldsbury reportedly donated $1 million to the far-right Tea Party Patriots group in 2019, according to a report from the Intercept based on internal data from the organization.

“I think that’s a pretty callous way to respond, knowing how much was put into that piece,” Gronnevik said of the Pearl’s removal. “Eight hours in triple-degree heat, hundreds of names of unarmed black men who have been killed by law enforcement, very detailed pieces that took hours to create … just a lot of significance. It wasn’t hopscotch.”

A spokesperson from the Pearl said Goldsbury wasn’t directly involved in the decision to remove the mural.

Lakey Hinson and his crew spent eight hours in the scorching Texas summer heat to create the mural celebrating Juneteenth. Credit: Tricia Gronnevik

Joergensen is adamant that the Pearl is a welcoming place for everyone. He pointed to a mural created in March to celebrate International Women’s Day and the development’s ongoing Pride Month celebrations.

“I think Pearl has proven that it is a place for everyone, and Black Lives Matter is no different,” Joergenson said, adding that he personally supports the movement.

Joergensen said that he and the Pearl would be willing to work with Hinson on future projects, adding that they reached out to the chalk artist via social media.

Hinson wasn’t receptive.

“A public apology seems in order at this point,” he said. “It’s all really insulting, and the Pearl needs to do something to rectify this and make it up to myself and the other artists and the community at large, who they deprived of this art and expression.”

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This article appears in Jun 14-27, 2023.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...