New Albany, IN – BLM vandals have literally defaced a statue of a fleeing slave and her child that sits outside the Second Baptist Church in New Albany, Indiana. The sculpture depicts Lucy Higgs Nichols and her baby as they fled slavery and sits in the Underground Railroad Gardens at the church. They painted the face of Lucy and her child with red spray paint and tagged the statue with “BLM.” New Albany police believe the statue was vandalized just after 2 a.m. ET last Friday.
Second Baptist Church wrote in a Facebook post,
“Lucy, an enslaved Freedom Seeker, settled in New Albany after the Civil War. Her dedication as a nurse to our Indiana 23rd Regiment after she escaped enslavement is an inspiration.”
The statue was placed in the garden on July 3rd, 2019, one year to the day of it’s desecration. It’s creator,David Ruckman, showed up to clean the paint off of the monument.
“She should be honored, not disgraced in any way…This is a hero. This is a real hero from a personal standpoint, a nurse who saved countless, countless lives.”
Ruckman said.
Surveillance cameras caught the crime on film. New Albany police have made no arrests and continue to investigate.
