Art project or statement? Statue of pioneering Black Berkeley legislator briefly defaced Someone put a white skeleton mask and some graffiti on the statue of William Byron Rumford on Sacramento Street. The defaced William Rumford statue on Jan. 8, 2021. Photo: Christine Schwartz Update, 1:35 p.m.: This may have been part of an art project. The URL on Rumford’s hand leads to this website with photos of other masks the artist appears to have placed on the statue. Berkeleyside has reached out to the artist for more information. Original story: The bronze statue of William Byron Rumford, the Black Berkeley Assemblymember who pushed through landmark fair housing legislation in the 1960s, was briefly defaced Friday night.