Signs of resistance: marking public space through a renewed cultural activism | CU Experts

For several years prior to the catastrophic events surrounding Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was the site of an ongoing tension between artist-activists, progressives, and revolutionaries and what some might call an anti-graffiti vigilante. Fred Radtke, president and founder of Operation Clean Sweep, Inc., a nonprofit anti-graffiti organization, vowed that his group would remove graffiti within 7 days after it was reported to a 24-hour a day hotline. Radtke reported that graffiti had dropped 65% in New Orleans, and more specifically, 85% in the French Quarter (“Pride Reflected,�� 2002). Earlier cleanup campaigns in the city involved New Orleans public housing residents and were funded by the city and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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