A “white power” graffiti scandal rocked Roosevelt on 4th Avenue on Wednesday, as someone wrote “white power, white power, white power” in the storefronts of three small African-American stores.
“It’s targeted toward our little businesses. My store is one of the targeted stores,” said a store owner. The word ‘white’ was painted on the parking lot of the other targeted store. The woman said the vandalism took her “back to my childhood, when I was a kid, in some areas. Like when I’d see kids who are hanging around and it was like something like, ‘Well, they’re always hanging around a group of people who I don’t like.’”
The graffiti is an insult to the residents of Roosevelt, said local Joe Champagne, a head football coach. “We are a melting pot. Everybody is different,” he said. “We’re friends with the people we wouldn’t necessarily like. But why is that reason to attack anybody?”
The crime is currently being investigated by the New York Police Department, who has been on the case since Wednesday. They said they are considering whether the behavior was meant to specifically target the African-American business owners or whether it is racially motivated. The graffiti is against the law.