The message — which is now being investigated by local police and the FBI as a hate crime — was found on the home of 13-year-old Isaac Phillips early on Friday morning. Phillips, whose mother is white and father is African-American, now wants to transfer to another school.
“I’m frustrated that someone would use that word in 2013. I thought we moved on from this,” Isaac’s father told CBS Boston of the words spray-painted on the house.
The New England regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, Robert Trestan, issued a statement in which he said:
This brazen attack on the home of a high school football player warrants everyone’s condemnation. All of us should be disturbed by this case. Our children retreat to their homes every day because of the safety it offers. Too often, hate crimes shatter our communities’ sense of safety.
This case is indicative of how school bullying can quickly escalate to a hate crime and civil rights violations, making it a community wide concern. All of us have a role to play in providing comfort and being clear that these actions are completely unacceptable. We applaud the Lunenburg police for making this case a top priority, and are confident that the offenders will be quickly apprehended.
