CHAPEL HILL — A local artist started a firestorm in the Briar Chapel neighborhood last week after the Black Lives Matter signs she made for friends and community neighbors were met with initial backlash from the local HOA.
In a moment where protests sweep across North Carolina and the rest of the nation, resident Mia King wanted to show support to the movement by making personalized yard signs for her neighbors: in addition to Black Lives Matter, the signs included messages like “Love is Love,” “No Human is Illegal,” and “Women’s Rights are Human Rights.”
King said she expected a few dozen requests at the most, but after she posted about her signs on the neighborhood social media platform Nextdoor, more than 50 requests came in.
Then on June 11, an email was sent out to residents from the HOA: “…Please be aware that any additions or modifications to the exterior of your home must be approved via the DRC process; (signs, yard art, garden flags are not allowed)…”
Briar Chapel resident Sofia Munson, an attorney, said that during the time she’s lived in the neighborhood, all sorts of different signs and decorations have adorned the yards there.
“There have been signs up in our neighborhood all over the place,” Munson said. “They have not been enforcing this rule for the three years we’ve been in Briar Chapel.”
Munson said there’s one neighbor with a Hillary Clinton sign that’s so old it’s now surrounded by overgrown bushes, but still, nothing from the HOA.
“And then suddenly, after a whole bunch of us say we’re going to buy these signs, we start to get emails pretty rapidly from our HOA, telling us that they’re going to start to enforce these measures — and that you’re supposed to apply for a permit, which is $25,” Munson said. “I think a lot of us felt very frustrated by the fact that it seemed like a sudden interest in this, all kind of coordinated with the subject matter.”
King said on that same day, the HOA sent out a second email: “Due to the recent proliferation of non-compliant signage, BCCA will resume enforcement of all yard signs beginning on July 1, 2020. Please remove all non-compliant signs by July 1.”
King went online to denounce the decision, and was met with even more support from the community. Her husband, however, after suggesting that community members could organize their own protest or start a donation campaign to other local protests, was threatened by a stranger.
They put a fence up in their yard and filed a restraining order.
“We’re really trying to make sure that the movement gets what it needs,” King said.
With the proceeds from selling signs, she plans on providing supplies to other local protests in the Triangle, and hopes to organize a march within Briar Chapel.
After ABC11 in Raleigh reached out to the HOA last week, a final email was sent out to the residents:
“Dear Friends and Neighbors,
“The BCCA Board apologizes for our messages of June 11, 2020 regarding enforcement of signage restrictions in the neighborhood. While our intentions were procedural, we failed to appreciate the relevance of current events in our decision and how our message would be received. We realize that our actions to address signage in the community have caused pain to some residents and for that we apologize. The Board is in the process of reviewing our legal documents with the assistance of counsel to determine the best way the Board can fulfill its duties under the covenants, including how those covenants may be adapted to better serve the needs of our community. The Board will take no further action regarding signage until we have gained that understanding and communicate further with you, our community.”
The Briar Chapel HOA did not respond to a request from the News + Record for comment by the time of publication.
“It definitely seemed like a lot of friends went against other friends,” King said. “We lost a few friends in the neighborhood, who I guess are more prejudiced than we thought, and it turned into a pretty big deal that I didn’t think it would turn into.”
King said in the aftermath of the controversy and the ABC11 report, she’s been inundated with even more requests for original signs, and wants to ensure that she’s using her time in the spotlight to advance the goals of the movement.
“Our community needs to be aware this is happening,” King said “We are in the South — it is what it is — but we need to figure out a way to come together and change it.”