The removal of a mural at a school campus in Los Angeles' Koreatown neighborhood that bears a similarity to the Imperial Japanese Army's flag has been put on hold, the Los Angeles Unified School District said this week.
"As a result of the extensive input, there is a need to have additional conversation," Eugene Hernandez, administrator of operations for the school district, wrote in an email to stakeholders on Monday. "Therefore, we will not be taking immediate action on the mural at this time."
The decision came after the school district said last week it would remove the mural at the campus of the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools over the upcoming winter break after hearing local community members and organizations' concerns that the sun ray motif depicts brutality by the Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II. At the same time, some people were against the district's earlier plan to paint over the mural, citing concerns over the right to free expression.