An anonymous vandal desecrated the grave of late actor, Michael Clarke Duncan, by pinning the image of Little Black Sambo – an historic symbol of racial discrimination – to his gravestone.
Little Black Sambo was a children’s book character created in 1898 by the Scottish author-illustrator Helen Bannerman.
Though he was originally of Southern Indian ethnicity, his ebony skin, wide nose, and ruby lips became a symbol of racial discrimination towards African-Americans in the United States.
Therefore, when Duncan’s family visited the late actor’s grave site in the Hollywood Hills and discovered the image of Little Sambo pinned to the late actor’s gravestone, the family considered it an act of racism, reports TMZ.
Duncan’s family filed a report with the Los Angeles police who are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
The image of Sambo has since been removed.
Duncan passed away at age 54 last September due to complications from a heart attack suffered a few months prior. Though he was a hulking 6-foot-5 with a growling baritone voice, Duncan’s mourners reminisced on his gentle personality.
One such admirer was Frank Darabont, director of the film The Green Mile in which Duncan performed his breakout, Oscar-nominated role as a death row inmate.
According to the LA Times Darabont said, “I’m devastated at the loss of Michael Clarke Duncan, one of the finest people I’ve ever had the privilege to work with or know. Michael was the gentlest of souls - an exemplar of decency, integrity, and kindness. The sadness I feel is inexpressible.”
Duncan’s fiancé Omarosa – star of the reality competition show The Apprentice - was equally distraught but said simply, “He was the love of my life.” Duncan and Omarosa had planned to wed this January.
Duncan’s family is struggling to imagine why someone would disrespect the gravesite in this way and are determined to follow the investigation to its hopefully just conclusion.