'It's chilling': Black community frustrated following racially motivated incidents in St. Catharines (Niagara This Week and St. Catharines Standard)

(https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/local-st-catharines/life/2022/06/22/it-s-chilling-black-community-frustrated-following-racially-motivated-incidents-in-st-catharines.html)

'It's chilling': Black community frustrated following racially motivated incidents in St. Catharines

In one weekend, Harriet Tubman Public School and the Caribbean Eatery were vandalized with racist and homophobic slurs

Set St. Catharines as My Local news

By Abby Green

Wed., June 22, 2022

By Abby Green

Wed., June 22, 2022timer4 min. read

Trecia McLennon said the very public nature of a string of recent anti-Black vandalism incidents is what gets to her.

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Frustrated, angry and exhausted.

These are words used by some in St. Catharines' Black community after a recent uptick in racially motivated incidents.

St. Catharines resident and Brock University’s director of EDI Culture and Education Trecia McLennon said the very public nature of these incidents is what gets to her.

“You want to just kind of have it roll off your back, right?” she said. “But then, on the other hand, the frequency and the very public nature of it, clearly going after Black and LGBTQ and marginalized communities … honestly, it's chilling.”

McLennon said Brock has been offering counselling to people following the May shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo that killed 10 Black people and injured three others.

Officials say the shooter in Buffalo, an 18-year-old white male, researched the local demographics prior to the attack. They say he went out with hopes of killing as many black people as possible.

More locally, on the weekend of June 11, Harriet Tubman Public School, the Caribbean Eatery and a number of vehicles were covered with graffiti that contained racial and homophobic slurs.

Niagara Regional Police described it as “hate vandalism”, and have released images of the suspects.

Saleh Waziruddin, a board member of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association, agreed that these are examples of the worsening situation in the city.

“I think there’s a danger that this kind of environment, where there’s hate speech and hate signs, it’s a precursor to physical violence,” he said.

Natasha Bell, founder of BlackOwned905, said the recent attacks made her angry, but she’s not totally surprised.

“Racism in this region is so rampant and it often just gets swept under the rug. It happens everywhere in our school systems, workplaces and with our next-door neighbours,” she said. “People don’t think it’s a major problem because it’s not being called out or taken as seriously as it should be. People are only seeing what is reported.”

Bell said she often doesn’t feel safe.

“I do not feel safe in this community as a woman of colour, knowing that people are so freely committing these crimes, knowing that there are little to no consequences,” she said. “I’ve lived in this region for 36 years, and I’ve experienced racism since I was a child. The only thing now is it’s being recorded and spread over the internet.”

Rochelle Bush is a trustee and historian at the Salem Chapel British Methodist Episcopal Church on Geneva Street, where Tubman once attended.

She was disheartened by this second attack on the iconic activist, after the statue of Tubman that stood in the courtyard of the church was pushed off of its pedestal and broken in October.

Bush, who has lived in St. Catharines her whole life, expressed similar fears to both McLennon and Bell.

“When I drive, I don't look at white people, especially white males,” she said. “It's not that I can't look them in the eye or I lack the courage, you just don't know who they are or what they're going to do. So I stopped doing that because I've had it where I've been driving down the street and you look at a white male and they’ll either stick their tongue out or they'll give you that frown or they'll do something nasty.”

She agreed that it feels as if the situation is getting worse.

“Before, people were able to play it off as a joke,” she said. “Like the chicken wing jokes or the watermelon jokes. There was always laughter behind it. Those are the subtle ones. Now, today, it's just straight up overt racism.”

McLennon, who is chair of the city’s Inclusion and Equity Committee, said we need to ensure there are wraparound supports and services for the victims.

“Encouraging people to support those businesses and encouraging folks to support other Black businesses and ensuring, for example, the stuff that happened at Harriet Tubman, that those students and those teachers and those staff members have access to supports to make sure that they're OK and have reinforcements to make sure that their sense of community isn't shattered,” she said.

She said it’s also important to have a co-ordinated community response.

“That means (involving) organizations like municipalities, universities, hospitals, along with some of the umbrella social service organizations that serve historically marginalized communities,” she said. “It's like when you have a crisis communication plan and then when something happens, you're not running around trying to build the plane as you fly it, but you distribute everything so that the community can help in trying to identify and hold accountable the perpetrators of these types of crimes.”

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STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Following the vandalizing of the Caribbean Eatery and Harriet Tubman Public School in St. Catharines, reporter Abby Green wanted to check in with members of the Black community and see how they’re coping and the impact these incidents have had on them.

At least 13 'horrifying' vandalism incidents in Ontario's Niagara region under police investigation (CBC News)

(https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/racist-homophobic-vandalism-niagara-1.6489645)

Hamilton

At least 13 'horrifying' vandalism incidents in Ontario's Niagara region under police investigation

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Police seek 2 suspects after vandalism around school, on vehicles, at homes and a business

Bobby Hristova · CBC News · Posted: Jun 15, 2022 1:19 PM ET | Last Updated: June 15

Michael Andrade, 57, owner of Caribbean Eatery in St. Catharines, Ont., on Sunday saw a racist word spray painted on a car outside his restaurant, among a string of vandalism incidents in the area. This photo shows Andrade using a phone to show the two suspects in security footage from a nearby corner store. (Jessica Maxwell/CBC)

Michael Andrade was trying to get ready for church when he came face to face with racism.

The 57-year-old was inside his restaurant, Caribbean Eatery, not far from downtown St. Catharines.

"I got here Sunday, warming up some patties for the church … I looked in the back there and I saw this car with n----r written on it and I'm like, 'What's going on here?'" he told CBC Hamilton in an interview.

"I never experienced that. I've been here since 1986 … it took a little toll on me."

The vandalism he saw in the parking lot outside his restaurant is part of a string of racist and homophobic graffiti in the area that's being investigated by Niagara police.

The police were initially investigating vandalism at Harriet Tubman Public School just five minutes away, but have since found 13 incidents of hateful graffiti, including on:

• Six vehicles.
• Three homes.
• A business.
• Two school buses.

The vandals struck Saturday night around 10 p.m. ET, according to police and surveillance footage Andrade captured.

The cost of the damage is over $5,000, police say.

The first suspect is described as a man with a medium build wearing light-coloured pants, a light-coloured sweater, a baseball hat and black Nike shoes. Police also say he used his left hand.

The second suspect is described as a thin man wearing a striped hooded sweater, pants, light-coloured shoes and a flat brimmed baseball hat.

The bronze statue at Harriet Tubman Public School in St. Catharines was defaced with blue paint, some of which had already been cleaned off at the time this photo was taken Monday. (Jessica Maxwell/CBC)

Officers say the suspects likely walked on foot and were on George, Catherine, Albert, Henry and Louisa streets.

Police are asking for any video footage that could help identify the vandals.

Community condemns hateful vandalism

Saleh Waziruddin, a member of Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association's executive committee, lives near the area and said he's concerned about the "brazen" nature of the vandalism.

"It's horrifying … they're just walking around without any worry of being caught or anything like that. It needs to be shut down," he said.

"Moments away from where I'm sleeping … this kind of violence is going on. It makes you feel very unsafe."

Andrade said the racist graffiti hits even closer to home because his granddaughter is a student at Harriet Tubman Public School, and the mass shooting at Tops supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., where 10 Black people were killed, was so recent.

 

"If these guys can ... take their time to do all this, what's next … it makes you think twice," Andrade said.

"We send men to the moon, we do all these things and still we can't get along … I don't understand why people can't see past colour."

• St. Catharines Harriet Tubman public school hit with racist and homophobic graffiti

Mayor Walter Sendzik said in a public statement that hate has no place in the city.

"The words used are charged with white supremacy thinking — the actions point to a poisonous way of thinking. When these despicable acts take place, we need to call it out forcefully and show support to those impacted by the hate-fuelled vandalism," he wrote.

Waziruddin said he has a message for the vandals.

"They better stop because people aren't going to take it and they better turn themselves in. Somebody knows who they are."

He also has a message for the community.

"We can't rest easy. We can't think this is not going to get worse."

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For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.

'People need to get involved': Calls for action following recent hate crimes in St. Catharines (Niagara This Week, St. Catharines Standard)

(https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/local-st-catharines/news/2022/06/15/people-need-to-get-involved-calls-for-action-following-recent-hate-crimes-in-st-catharines.html)

'People need to get involved': Calls for action following recent hate crimes in St. Catharines

Black-owned business, Harriet Tubman school vandalized over the weekend

By Abby Green

Wed., June 15, 2022

Michael Andrade has the same routine every Sunday.

While the restaurant he owns, the Caribbean Eatery, is closed to the public that day, he still shows up there each week by himself to make patties. Those patties are destined for Southridge Community Church.

But when he showed up to the Lake Street restaurant this past Sunday, his solitude was shattered by an act of vandalism. Racial epithets and other symbols had been spray painted across a vehicle that was parked in front of his restaurant.

Andrade, who has owned the eatery for more than 20 years without incident, said he was shocked and didn’t really know what to do.

He called Niagara Regional police, but said he was told they couldn’t immediately do anything because no one knew who owned the tagged car.

When Andrade got home later that day, he heard his children talking about another act of vandalism that had occurred at Harriet Tubman Public School, not too far from the restaurant on Henry Street.

“That’s when I realized this wasn’t neighbours or something,” he said. “This was a whole different thing.”

Saleh Waziruddin, chair of the St. Catharines Anti-Racism Advisory Committee, said this attack and the vandalism at the school are just examples of the worsening situation in the city.

“I think there’s a danger that this kind of environment of where there’s hate speech and hate signs, it’s a precursor to physical violence,” he said. “There’s a danger that it’s not just words, that people’s lives are going to be destroyed … people can’t think this is going to blow over. People need to get involved.”

In a statement posted to social media, St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik said this weekend was “not a high point for our city.”

“Not only was Harriet Tubman School vandalized with racist and homophobic slurs, but also surrounding areas, including a Black-owned business,” he said. “The words used are charged with white supremacy thinking. Whether it was a lone person or a group of people — the actions point to a poisonous way of thinking.”

Sendzik said he spoke with Niagara Regional Police Services Chief Bryan MacCulloch about the alarming increase of hate crimes across the region.

“When these despicable acts take place, we need to not only call it out forcefully but also show support to those impacted by the hate-fuelled vandalism,” he said.

Andrade said he’s never experienced anything like this in his business’ 20 years.

“I didn’t know how to deal with it,” he said. “My kids work for me and grandkids play around with me … my grandkids had to see all the racial slurs written on the vehicle, and I have one granddaughter who goes to Harriet Tubman, so she got a double dose.”

Anyone with information about this weekend's acts of vandalism can submit it anonymously using Crime Stoppers of Niagara. To leave a tip, contact Crime Stoppers via telephone at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at www.crimestoppersniagara.ca. Crime Stoppers guarantees anonymity and tips that lead to an arrest may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.

(CKTB Interview) SALEH WAZIRUDDIN, NIAGARA REGION ANTI RACISM ASSOCIATION REACTS TO VANDALISM AT HARRIET TUBMAN PUBLIC SCHOOL

 (CKTB interview with Steph Vivier filling in for Tom McConnell on behalf of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association)

SALEH WAZIRUDDIN, NIAGARA REGION ANTI RACISM ASSOCIATION REACTS TO VANDALISM AT HARRIET TUBMAN PUBLIC SCHOOL

CHCH Evening News Interview on Behalf of Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association

CHCH 6pm and 11pm news on the vandalism of the Harriet Tubman Public School and area in St. Catharines, on behalf of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association 

N-WORD SPRAY PAINTED ON CAR AT CARIBBEAN EATERY IN ST. CATHARINES SAME NIGHT TUBMAN SCHOOL TARGETED (610 CKTB)

(https://www.iheartradio.ca/610cktb/news/n-word-spray-painted-on-car-at-caribbean-eatery-in-st-catharines-same-night-tubman-school-targeted-1.18005214)

N-WORD SPRAY PAINTED ON CAR AT CARIBBEAN EATERY IN ST. CATHARINES SAME NIGHT TUBMAN SCHOOL TARGETED

BONNIE HESLOP

Tuesday, June 14th 2022 - 4:04 pm

Photo: Prince Tunda Facebook

Niagara Police say that detectives are looking into the racist and homophobic vandalism at Harriet Tubman Public School.

Over the weekend many parts of the school including the sign and statue of Tubman were vandalized

Saleh Waziruddin from the Niagara Region Anti Racism Association joined CKTB with reaction saying it appears the suspects knew what they were doing.

"The more and more details that come out, this was pretty brazen. They took their time. They got all four sides of school, houses and buses nearby, and I don't think it's an accident that cars at a Caribbean restaurant were sprayed with racist graffiti as well. The video from the Caribbean Eatery shows them just walking nonchalantly and they weren't worried about being caught."

The Lake Street restaurant has released its video on social media showing two suspects walking through their parking lot.

A car had the N-word spray painted on it during the incident.

Police have not said whether the incident at the restaurant is linked to the Tubman vandalism.

Police are asking for people in the neighbourhood to check any cameras they have to see if they have any footage to pass along to detectives.

Niagara police hate crime unit reviewing racist, homophobic vandalism at Harriet Tubman school (St. Catharines Standard)

(https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/crime/2022/06/13/community-responds-to-act-of-hate.html)

Niagara police hate crime unit reviewing racist, homophobic vandalism at Harriet Tubman school

Anti-racism association calls for region-wide condemnation of hateful crime

By Allan BennerStandard Reporter

Mon., June 13, 2022

The Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association is calling for condemnation of white-supremacist and homophobic graffiti spray painted over a statue of Harriet Tubman, as well as on the St. Catharines elementary school named for the famed Underground Railroad conductor.

Anti-racism association executive member Saleh Waziruddin said the organization is pleased that a few elected officials publicly condemned the incident that occurred Saturday evening, but “we’re calling on all elected officials and anyone who has a voice to add to that condemnation.”

“We want the region to ring with condemnation of this,” Waziruddin said.

The association issued a statement Monday saying the people who perpetrated these attacks need to hear the outrage their actions have caused “so that it stays in the minds of anyone who is encouraged by this vandalism to escalate to more violence.”

“No one in Niagara can rest in comfort thinking that the escalation of white supremacist and anti-2SLGBTQQIA+ violence will escape us,” the statement said.

Rochelle Bush, a trustee and historian at Church Salem Chapel, visited the school Sunday to survey the damage, describing it as “absolutely very upsetting.”

“What really disturbs me is why they would do this to a bunch of elementary school kids who are predominantly white. Why terrorize them?” she said. “All those children now and all those who attended (the school) previously, all the parents, all the teachers, they all know now that there are white supremacists out there who despise them just because they attend or are employed by a school that is named after Harriet Tubman.”

The incident hit close to home for Bush, after a stone sculpture of the famed civil rights icon, which had stood on a pedestal in the courtyard of Salem Chapel British Methodist Episcopal Church since 2010, was toppled and broken on Oct. 14. Jessie Lohnes-Alanko, of no fixed address, was sentenced to five months behind bars in March after pleading guilty to multiple charges related to the vandalism at the church.

The vandalism at the church, however, was attributed to a mental health episode and was not considered a hate crime.

Niagara Regional Police spokesperson Stephanie Sabourin said the NRP’s equity, diversity and inclusion unit which investigates suspected hate crimes is aware of the incident and is reviewing it.

She said the police investigation is continuing and police are asking anyone in the area to review any video footage they may have, including dashcam footage and contact detectives if they have any further information.

Bush called for tough enforcement.

“It’s not a question of education because you can educate people all you want. It’s what is in their heart,” she said. “It’s just awful. There are just some hate-filled people out there and some who enjoy being troublemakers who want to upset everyone else’s world.”

In addition to the vandalism at the church, Waziruddin said a Harriet Tubman School located in the freedom-seeker’s home state of Maryland in the US, was also vandalized by white supremacists a year ago.

District School Board of Niagara education director Warren Hoshizaki issued a statement Monday, describing the attack on the school as “an act of hate.”

“The graffiti that covered the school contained grievous messages against the Black community, and the 2SLGBTQ+ community,” Hoshizaki said.

He said the school board acknowledges the disturbing incident may leave people feeling “traumatized, fearful, unsafe, and vulnerable,” including students, staff, and families, who have been deeply impacted.

“We will not tolerate any acts of racism, homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, or any other forms of discrimination or hate in our schools or communities, and we will speak out against these acts,” Hoshizaki said. “We extend our gratitude to those who gave their support to the Harriet Tubman school community. This includes the community members who contacted us, the Niagara Regional Police for their ongoing investigation and the DSBN staff who quickly arrived at the school to cover the graffiti and are continuing the work today.”

Regional Chair Jim Bradley issued a statement expressing his “unreserved repudiation of the vandalism that occurred over the weekend.”

“There is no excuse or justification for the defacement any public property, let alone a school and statue designed to honour one of history’s most recognized advocates for freedom,” he said.

“This inexcusable act of vandalism is in no way emblematic of the vast majority of residents of our region, and it is exceptionally disappointing to see this type of activity continue to occur more than 150 years after the end of slavery in the United States. It is disheartening to know that anyone would conduct themselves in such a destructive and vicious manner.”

Bradley said the “the cowardly individuals” who carried out the vandalism will not have any lasting impact on Tubman’s legacy.

“I can take some satisfaction in knowing that Harriet Tubman will continue to stand as icon of courage and freedom, serving as an inspiration to millions nearly 110 years after her death,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bush said a new bust of Harriet Tubman to replace the one that was damaged last fall is now complete and has arrived at the church, awaiting an unveiling ceremony tentatively planned for June 30. The new bust was created by artist Frank Rekrut, a former St. Catharines resident who now lives in Florence, Italy, who also created the statue of Tubman at the school that bears her name.

The Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association encouraged people to attend a Niagara Falls Anti-Racism Advisory Committee event at 6:30 p.m., June 27, at the Niagara Falls History Museum, featuring Barbara Perry — an Ontario Tech University professor who will speak about right-wing extremism in Canada and how local communities can faced down hate at home.

Allan Benner is a St. Catharines-based reporter with the Standard. Reach him via email: allan.benner@niagaradailies.com

Supports for emotional well-being

A statement District School Board of Niagara education director Warren Hoshizaki included a list of resources for people struggling in the wake of vandalism at Harriet Tubman School in St. Catharines.

• Pathstone Mental Health Crisis and Support Line/Walk-In Clinics – (1-800-263-4944)

• COAST - (1-866-55-5205)

• Kids Help Phone – (1-800-668-6868)

• Canadian Mental Health Association Niagara - (905-641-5222) - ages 16+

• Youth Wellness Hub Niagara – (905-229-9946) – ages 12-25

• Harriet’s Youth Support Line – (1-877-695-2673) is a 24-hour emergency / crisis response line for African, Caribbean, and Black youth. Text messaging is available for young people who do not feel like speaking to someone, but are still in need of help.

• Black Youth Helpline – (416-285-9944/1-833-294-8650) serves all youth and specifically responds to the need for a Black youth specific service

• Contact Niagara – (905-684-3407) – intake for many public children’s mental health services

• Niagara Falls Community Health Centre – (905-356-4222) advocating and assisting with barriers and tough conversations and connecting individuals with community resources and access to health care

• Quest Community Health Centre – (905-688-2558) provides primary health care services to individuals who experience barriers to accessing health care, including sexually and gender diverse communities

(List compiled by DSBN)