English Toulmin Assignment

Ramirez 2

Jazmine Ramirez

Prof Sarah Stevenson

ENG 112

07 JULY 2026

Wall Street Art

Walking through major cities, pedestrians are bound to see two different kinds of public markings: a spray-painted monochromatic scrawl on a brick wall, and a massive vibrant mural spanning across the side of a building. For thousands of years, humans have used public walls as a collective diary, from ancient cave paintings to modern urban landscapes. Modern society tends to confuse illegal vandalism with meaningful cultural expressions such as murals. The difference between graffiti and mural’s comes down to intent: tagging is a technique that involves quickly writing a signature in a place frequented by the public (“What Is the Difference”). Murals on the other hand are intentional large-scale artworks, that often take hours or even days. Murals are often commissioned to reflect the history and identity of the community. Lawmakers and city officials easily label both styles as crimes, so the unique value of street murals gets lost in the debate. Unauthorized tagging is a form of vandalism, modern street art should be protected as a cultural asset, public walls have served as a historical canvas for diverse community expression.

In the rush to scrub away crime, the city of Chicago has replaced vibrant local storytelling with a sterile patchwork of brown paint. “According to the city’s official budget, graffiti removal is managed strictly by the Department of Streets and Sanitation (Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation 94).” Wasting money on cleaning up street art is secondary; the true issue is that the community’s voice is being stripped away. This is exactly why Chicago artist Gloria Gloe, started a project called the Brown Wall Project. In an interview with South Side Weekly, Gloria speaks about how the city rushes to cover up walls with flat brown paint to erase and control people’s creative expression. Gloria states that these cover ups don’t make the neighborhood look better; they just hide the real issues in the community, and silence local stories (“South Side Weekly”). When the city treats every piece of art on the wall like it’s a crime, they miss the point entirely. Neighborhood street art is a way for people to take pride in where they live and tell their own history. Instead of trying to erase community stories, cities should be protecting this art because public walls have always been a way for different communities to speak up and show who they are.

City officials and property owners argue that graffiti needs to be washed away or covered up. City officials believe that if artists leave any spray paint on a wall, it makes the neighborhood look run down and invites more crime. While unwanted tagging can make an area look messy, grouping massive public murals into that same category is a huge mistake. Ultimately, a quick signature tag and a planned street mural are not the same thing. Cleaning up illegal vandalism makes sense, but erasing community murals just because they are spray painted does little to address the underlying causes of crime. Instead, removing artwork that reflects the neighborhood’s history, creativity, and identity further alienates the community.

Instead of erasing community art, there is a better way for cities to handle street art. Some cities have started creating designated “free walls” or public art zones, and city officials note a decrease in illegal tagging once artists have a safe, legal place to paint. When a city works with local artists instead of treating them all like criminals, taxpayer money is saved because clean-up crews are no longer necessary. Supporting public murals can turn ugly blank walls into outdoor art galleries that the community can take pride in, proving that permission works much better than erasure.

Ultimately, street art is more than just painting on a brick wall; it is a vital part of a community’s identity. While city officials are right to want to clean neighborhoods, their current approach of blindly washing away every piece of spray paint is completely ineffective. Erasing beautiful, planned murals doesn’t stop the actual crime. Instead, as real cases in Chicago show this wastes taxpayer money and silences local voices. There is a much better path forward if cities choose to work with artists instead of treating them like criminals. By creating free designated spaces and protecting community murals, cities can redirect funds from costly paint-overs toward fostering public expression. Lawmakers need to realize that public walls are a historical canvas for storytelling, and protecting this art is what makes our neighborhoods unique.

Works Cited

Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation. "Infrastructure Services." 2026 Budget Overview, City of Chicago, 2026, p. 94.

Sawyer, Rod. “Reversing the Buff.”  South Side Weekly, 31 Oct. 2017, southsideweekly.com/brown-wall-project-reverse-buff/?hl=en-US.

What Is the Difference between a Tag and Graffiti?”  Lofty Trend, 15 Nov. 2020, loftytrend.com/en/blogs/blog-art/quelle-est-la-difference-entre-un-tag-et-un-graffiti