San Antonio chalk artist Joshua “Lakey” Hinson has started a petition calling for the city to cease arrests for sidewalk art and protect public expression.
A local artist who was arrested in San Antonio earlier this year for using washable chalk at a bus stop has started a petition demanding the city cease arrests and citations related to sidewalk art. Joshua “Lakey” Hinson has created sidewalk chalk art in San Antonio and other Texas cities for years.
His freehand circles are usually accompanied by wholesome quotes like, “Overlapping friend circles bring a community to blossom” and “Create beauty knowing it will be washed away.” In the Change.org petition, Hinson wrote that he never encountered problems when creating art other than city workers pressure-washing away his work. In May 2023, however, he was arrested by Leon Valley police for using washable chalk on a sidewalk beside the busy Bandera Road. Hinson received a $16,500 settlement from the city of Leon Valley and an apology from the city manager for the wrongful arrest, but claimed in his petition that San Antonio police began “harassing” him after the settlement. On Feb. 6, Hinson livestreamed on social media as he was briefly detained by a VIA Metropolitan Transit officer for drawing with chalk at the Fredericksburg and Woodlawn bus stop. He said he was issued a citation and banned from the bus stop for a year. Two days later, the artist was arrested near the public transit agency’s Centro Plaza downtown on a charge of criminal trespass. The case was dismissed in April. In a video posted to his Instagram page, Hinson said the petition was created to tackle an issue much bigger than himself. “It’s also about the behavior of the police,” he said. “If the police will treat me this way as a white dude who’s gotten national and local publicity and has developed a following, how much worse will they treat a minority who maybe struggles with English, especially when there’s no public around?” A city ordinance defines graffiti as “any unauthorized inscription, word, letter, figure, symbol or design visible from a public place, public right-of-way or another person’s property that is marked, etched, scratched, drawn, painted or made in any manner on any surface of tangible property regardless of its content or nature and regardless of the nature of the material of the structural component or property.” In his social media posts, Hinson said it doesn’t make sense for the city to claim sidewalk art is illegal when it has hosted an annual street chalk festival, Chalk It Up, for the past 20 years. A frequent speaker at City Hall, Hinson’s wants the city to clarify that children’s sidewalk chalk and temporary street art are not criminal offenses on public property; develop clear guidelines to protect artistic expression in public places; and train law enforcement on the difference between vandalism and temporary art. “Everyone is impacted anytime we the people lose our freedom to express ourselves,” Hinson said in an Instagram video. “Taxpayers and constituents are impacted when taxes are misappropriated to silence free speech instead of serve our city. Crime victims who actually need police assistance have service delayed while cops are distracted antagonizing innocent citizens.” Launched on Dec. 7, the petition currently has over 320 signatures. Hinson said in the social media post that he knows sidewalk chalk “doesn’t come off as something super important to a lot of people, but it is one of the most affordable and accessible means of exercising your freedom of expression.” He cited chalk artists' ability to spread positivity during the COVID-19 pandemic or advocate for change in movements like Black Lives Matter. The city did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.
COVID Joshua ``Lakey'' Hinson San Antonio Texas Leon Valley Bandera Road Centro Plaza Fredericksburg Woodlawn City Hall Instagram Change.Org English Black Lives Matter Chalk It Up
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