MATHEWS COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) — Racist graffiti found in a school bathroom continues to stir controversy in Mathews County.
It has parents in a rural school system asking a lot of questions.
The words of hate, Kill N*s, were found in a men’s bathroom stall at Mathews High School. Part of the concern is how the school system responded to the threat.
Tuesday night, these concerns were brought before a regularly scheduled school board meeting.
“It was a statement to kill Black people, but using a contemptuous, disgusting term to refer to people of color,” said community member Dee Russell.
Many in the community spoke out over Superintendent David Daniel’s delayed notice of the message—which went out this week. They questioned if the school division took the matter seriously.
“And then to clean that up, some of your custodians are African American. What do you think that feels like,” community member Melissa Mason said.
Edith Turner of the Mathews County branch of the NAACP also took the podium Tuesday night, reading the chapter’s prepared statement on the matter, saying in part:
“We also ask that you maximize this incident as a teaching opportunity for students, staff and families on what racism is,” Turner said, “how it affects people of color and what each of our responsibilities is to address racism.”
The superintendent acknowledged his mistake in not immediately notifying students and their families as he and members of the School Board assured them that the matter is taken seriously and the Sheriff’s Department is now investigating.
“We learn from our mistakes, we do better going forward and work in unison with other members of our community to make sure that our school is the best possible place for all of our students,” Daniels told the community.
Mathews County Public Schools will have a link on its website to anonymously receive tips about where that racist message came from.
