Group Changes Billboard To 'Secure Hoods, Stop Yuppies'

Anti-Immigration Billboard Reworded During Night

POSTED: 5:31 pm EDT June 13, 2006
UPDATED: 6:04 pm EDT June 13, 2006

MIAMI -- An anti-immigration billboard in Miami was promoting an entirely different message when the sun came up Tuesday.

The billboard had read, "Stop the Invasion. Secure our Borders." But after dark Monday, a group of activists armed with paintbrushes changed the wording. The sign now reads, "Secure our Hoods. Stop the Invasion of Yuppies. Stop Gentrification."

All of the participants of what they call a "public art action," said that they wanted to remain anonymous.

In a release they said, "While we would hope that our work would be celebrated as public art, we know that the police and city officials prioritize the rights of property owners and developers over its community members. Free Speech is limited to those who can pay for it. Public art is criminalized when not in line with their agenda."

Defacing property is a crime, generally under the category of vandalism.

Those involved said that they wanted to draw attention to Miami's housing crisis and the "impending displacement of low-income residents by new development and condos."

The anti-immigration billboard went up about a month ago in Little Haiti. The billboard faces the thoroughfare that connects the highway to the Immigration and Naturalization Services building.

One participant explained her motivation to change the billboard's wording. She said, "It is not coincidental that it is low income people of color who are those displaced from their neighborhoods because they can no longer afford to live in these now 'up and coming' areas ... This gentrification is eating away at what makes Miami a beautiful, vibrant and culturally diverse place to live."

There was no word from any officials regarding any action that might be taken as a result of the reworded billboard.
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