Pomona, CA — At 8:30 AM, representatives of Gente Organizada noticed artwork on the front of their building on Holt avenue had been stolen overnight. The artwork was an enlarged photograph taken by Julian Lucas during the 2020 protests in the city of Pomona, during the global Black Lives Matter uprising protesting the police murder of George Floyd. 

The artwork was installed a year ago, but was stolen a week after the the ACLU released a press release announcing they were suing the City of Pomona over code enforcement fines that the City had leveled on Gente Organizada. The ACLU said the City was in violation of Freedom of Speech. ACLU Press Release

Gente Organizada released a statement on an instagram post stating, “Art is supposed to be provocative and political, not stolen off of our building this morning. It seems like pro-police folks are the ones committing the crimes in our neighborhood.”

The artist, Julian Lucas, who has captured Pomona street culture for the last 23 years, took the news as a anazed, but laughed and stated, “It sucks because artists make art and it costs money, time, and effort. It also sucks because what people don’t usually understand is photography creates history, it’s a slice of life that happened in 2020, during the time of the pandemic, which can’t be repeated. Therefore, the image can also be viewed as a part of Pomona’s history for the future to come. On the other hand I’m flattered, the city of Pomona can now stand up and pat itself on the back, because instead of bikes or porch thieves, they now have someone who steals art. I think that this is a step in the right direction when it comes to what we think is valuable, as opposed to an Amazon package from someone’s porch”.

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