SEATTLE — It's James Crespinel's third time painting the wall along Martin Luther King Junior Way in Seattle's Central District.
"The third time should be the charm, right," said Crespinel as he worked to restore a mural of Dr. King.
The mural was vandalized on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Erika White spotted the graffiti when she arrived at work. She is the co-owner of Fat's Chicken and Waffles, and the mural is on the side of her building. She says the portrait has been a source of pride in the neighborhood for the last 26 years. White, who grew up in the Central District, has made it her mission to protect the mural, and that made the vandalism even more painful.
"It's a part of the community. It is part of who I am," said White. "I felt like it was a personal attack."
The damage was so severe, the mural needed to be completely restored.
"My first phone call was to James," White said.
James Crespinel originally painted the mural in 1995, but he currently lives in Mexico. Crespinel did come back to Seattle in 2015 to give the faded mural a makeover, but it was going to be expensive for him to travel back again to restore it.
That's where community members stepped in with donations. More than $18,000 was raised. It is enough to restore the portrait, add an anti-graffiti coating, and install security cameras near the mural.
"The community showed up with love," said White.
Crespinel flew to Seattle, and he has spent much of this week working on the mural.
"It is a pretty blessed event for me," he said. "It is the most powerful piece that I have ever done because of the 26-year life of it and because of what it means to the community."
Erika White plans to keep protecting the portrait, and now she knows she's not the only one.
"You know, love is the only thing that can drive out hate. Light is the only thing that can drive out darkness. And the community has definitely been the light and the love that has shined," said White.