Racial slur defaces artwork along Atlanta's Beltline

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Visitors to Piedmont Park may enjoy art along the Atlanta Beltline, but at one location, the warmth art lovers feel immediately turn to a chill after they spotted a racial slur in bold letters defacing a large mural.

The message is too vulgar to reprint. It was anti-white in a part of the city many consider to perhaps be the most progressive and tolerant.

Community leader Derrick Boazman, a former city councilman, said the slur should not be seen as anything more than one person delivering an anonymous message of intolerance.

The talk show host who samples feedback on a host of issues on his radio show said Atlanta has always been best positioned to deal with issues of race "better than any place I know."

Besides the message, frequent park visitors expressed concerns about the slur being on the art for several weeks. Evidently, Beltline officials did not know it was there. By late Tuesday, authorities said the ugly message had been covered over.