Racist graffiti found on building housing San Francisco youth program
SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco officials gathered at the Merced Heights Playground to condemn hate speech after a community leader discovered racial epithets painted on an enrichment program building at that location.
Renard Monroe, executive director of Youth 1st, was shocked to find what he interpreted as a noose hanging from the doorway of the program building and the N-word spray-painted in black ink on the walls next to the playground Friday morning.
"Emotions are all over the place right now," Monroe told CBS Bay Area.
Youth 1st is an enrichment program in a predominantly Black neighborhood meant to give children a space to learn and play after school. The building is surrounded by a playground and tennis courts bordering the side of the building. The rest is fenced off with a gate reaching well above six feet.
Monroe said the sight of racial epithets so close to where children play was a metaphorical sucker punch to the work he's done and a direct counter to the positive message he teaches.
Officials organized a news conference Friday afternoon to encourage community members to stay strong in the face of adversity and bring awareness to the crime committed. Notable officials in attendance included Supervisor Asha Safai and San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. Both condemned the act and emphasized their intention to find the culprit.
"We must come together and march through the streets against something like that," the DA said.
City officials have not identified who is behind the graffiti but they did implore anyone with cameras attached to their homes to review their footage to look for suspicious activity.
Maika Pinkston, a local community leader wasn't satisfied with the news conference. In a brief interview with CBS Bay Area, she said the Black community in San Francisco is often forced to look the other way when racial attacks surface.
"As the Black community, we're asked to accept disrespect and basically move on and continue to go on with our day."
Renard Monroe said the playground would remain open. Children were back at the park less than an hour after Friday's news conference.