KANSAS CITY, KS (KSHB/CNN) - Crews are working to clean up an anti-slavery monument in Kansas City, KS.
Over the weekend, someone drew swastikas and racial slurs on the statue of abolitionist John Brown.
"Major great figure in American history, right here in KCK," said Fred Whitehead, a local historian.
Since 1911, this statue of famed abolitionist John Brown has stood at the Quindaro Town Ruins. On Sunday morning, Whitehead saw the anti-slavery monument marked by hatred.
Swastikas and racial slurs blanket the statue, and “Hail Satan” is written on Brown's chin.
"You've seen the markings. This is a very disturbed person," Whitehead said.
Whitehead said this isn't the first time the monument has been vandalized, and it may not be the last.
But the fact that someone felt strongly enough to do this, he said, is a testament to Brown's legacy.
"I guess, in a way, it's a tribute to old John Brown, because he still gets in their craw. They still hate him," Whitehead said.
Before the Civil War, Brown and his sons attacked pro-slavery residents in Kansas. In 1859, Brown and 21 others attacked the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry to facilitate and arm a slave rebellion.
Brown was captured and hanged, but became an abolitionist icon.
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