Racist Graffiti Reported at Kendrick Park

Racist graffiti was reported at Kendrick Park and on three electrical boxes around town, one of which was at Kendrick Park, on August 24.  The graffiti was reported to the DPW, which quickly removed it, and to the Amherst police. The graffiti reappeared at Kendrick the next day and was apparently removed again. The Amherst police are investigating the matter.

The graffiti included painted triskeles and “white power – goodnight” stickers with the image of a gun pointed at a Black cartoon face.

The Indy reached out to Police Chief Gabe Ting and DEI Director Pamela Nolan-Young for updates on the investigation.  Neither has yet to respond.

Town Manager Paul Bockelman issued the following statement in response to an Indy inquiry on Sept.8. It is posted on the town website.

“On August 25th, a hateful symbol was found spray-painted on two electrical boxes in Amherst, one at Kendrick Park and the other at the intersection of Northampton Road and South Pleasant Street. The symbol appeared to be a version of a triskele comprised of three sevens.”
       “Town of Amherst staff from the Department of Public Works and Police Department removed the graffiti immediately. The Police Department is actively investigating these incidents.”
      “ Hateful symbols such as this do not reflect the values of our Town. Our community remains committed to ensuring all residents and visitors feel welcomed, accepted, and celebrated in Amherst.”

Rani Parker, outgoing chair of the Amherst Human Rights Commission (HRC) issued the following statement.

“First, I fully appreciate the prompt removal of this offensive graffiti. I’m glad that town management recognizes that this type of information should go out right away, not more than two weeks later. I would also like to see any statement regarding racist symbols speak more specifically to the affected residents, rather than the generic statement that “our community remains committed to ensuring all residents and visitors feel welcomed, accepted, and celebrated in Amherst.” This is not about “all” visitors and “all” residents. “

Debora Ferreira, co-chair of the town’s Community Safety and Social Justice Committee (CSSJC) issued the following statement.

“The town needs to be transparent when these hateful incidents happen, and they need to notify the committees such as CSSJC and HRC about them. They also need to let us know what they are doing to address these incidents. A mere statement to the public is not enough. More needs to be done to assure our communities that the town is committed to addressing hate and racism in our town and to send a strong message that hate is not welcome in our town. “