Story at a glance
- A Kentucky tattoo shop is offering free ink to cover tattoos linked to hate or gang symbols.
- The two artists said it’s their contribution to the Black Lives Matter movement.
A Kentucky tattoo parlor is offering free appointments to anyone who wants to cover up their hate or gang symbol tattoos.
CNN reports that tattoo artists Jeremiah Swift and Ryun King from Gallery X Art Collective decided to help people cover up outdated tattoos as a way to contribute to the Black Lives Matter protests, which are calling for an end to police brutality and racial injustice.
The protests were initially prompted by the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis when a white police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes during an arrest.
“Having anything hate related is completely unacceptable. A lot of people when they were younger just didn’t know any better and were left with mistakes on their bodies,” King told CNN. “We just want to make sure everybody has a chance to change.”
The offer was made on Facebook on June 7 amid continuing protests. CNN writes that request came in soon after, amounting to more than 30 as of June 14.
Swift and King were motivated by clients with hate-related tattoos who now understand the significance of the designs and no longer identify with its meaning.
“We also got a guy with a giant swastika who said he has never taken his shirt off in front of his kids. I like seeing that. I like seeing people want to change themselves for the better. That swells me full of emotions,” King told CNN.
Gallery X Art Collective offers this service to both Kentucky and out-of-state customers by appointment.
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Published on Jun 15,2020