Vandals target ‘Pride in Wheeling’ murals; artist, organizers say they will not be deterred
The murals, designed by local artist Mindi Yarbrough, depict a butterfly and a sunrise over a landscape. Despite their innocuous nature, vandals targeted the art saying "leave our kids alone".
Wheeling, W.Va. – Since 2016, Orrick, a global law firm with an office in downtown Wheeling, has hosted a Pride in Wheeling day in June. Their goal is to promote inclusivity in the city through public art, garden plantings, and litter cleanup. An innocuous project for most in the city, some have taken it upon themselves to target their murals with nasty messages.
Orrick has partnered with local artist Mindi Yarbrough to design and paint two murals along the Wheeling Heritage Trail in the past two years. Both murals are adjacent to the city’s Heritage Port playground featuring a rainbow of colors and the words “You Belong” and “#PrideInWheeling”.


In 2022, Yarbrough designed a monarch butterfly mural that harkens back to the West Virginia state butterfly, and serves as a symbol of transformation, resilience, and endurance. “It reminds us to see the delicate beauty in nature and all around us–in ourselves and in others,” Yarbrough said.
And, in 2023, Yarbrough designed another mural–this time featuring a sunrise over a mountain landscape. “We need to work together to take care of each other, our city, our environment, our waterways, and ourselves,” Yarbrough said.
Yarbrough says the intent behind the murals was to add a splash of color to people’s day, and to uplift the mood of people who passed by them. Despite that, it appears some people were offended by the location of and message conveyed by the public art installations.
Earlier this week, crude attempts at graffiti popped up on both murals. On the 2023 landscape mural, someone wrote “don’t” in between the words “You Belong”. They also scrawled “leave our kids alone” and “infront a kids park [sic]”. And, on the 2022 monarch butterfly mural the words “we don’t like this hear” and “stop this” are written in the wings.


It’s a sad attempt at vandalism. The thin, sharpie lines will be easy to paint over; and, even if the vandals had done more damage there is no indication that the Pride in Wheeling organizers would be silenced by these cowardly acts.
“As the artist and designer (with the help of many volunteers) it’s difficult to see,” Yarbrough said of the vandalism. “As an ally, I try to lend my talents to be a voice, inspire, and uplift my community.”
Nick Roxby, co-chair of the Pride in Wheeling Day committee, says his initial reaction to the graffiti was disappointment. “Pride in Wheeling provides beautification service projects throughout the city to spread a message of love and acceptance for everyone in our community, but especially those in our LGBTQIA+ community,” Roxby said.
During this year’s Pride in Wheeling day, scheduled for Friday, June 7, Roxby says Yarbrough and fellow local artist Amanda Carney, as well as several dozen volunteers, will assist in repainting the vandalized murals. “We can’t speak highly enough of their (Yarbrough and Carney’s) time and efforts put towards our yearly event,” Roxby said. The group will also paint two new murals, clean up trash, and replanting an area where last year a rhododendron bush was stolen a week after its planting.
Although the damage to the murals is primitive and easily fixable, it is a lesson in why pride month is still necessary in 2024. Despite progress made towards full equality for the LGBTQ+ community, there are still those who seek to shame them. A colorful mural near a kids park is enough for some to become enraged and to lash out.
This isn’t new, either. Republican politicians have campaigned against transgender people for years, using their existence as a boogeyman to distract from real issues. Far right groups have normalized calling queer people ‘groomers’ and ‘predators’. The West Virginia GOP platform has as its second most important, foundational belief that gay people should not have the right to marry and transgender people should not exist.
Pride month is about recognizing the victories we’ve made and remembering the battles we still have to fight. It is not about taking rights from other people, but ensuring LGBTQ+ people can exist without fear of attack, marginalization, or criminalization. Clearly, we are not there yet.