Racial graffiti found
on Austin Meehan School

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

The cool, rainy weather kept most people indoors Friday evening. But one or more individuals saw it as an opportunity to scrawl racial graffiti on Austin Meehan Middle School.
On Saturday morning, the phrases "White power," "KKK," "Go back to your cotton fields," "slave," and "nigger" stood out in white and blue spray paint on the walls and windows of the school, at 3001 Ryan Ave.
Later that day, the School District of Philadelphia received a call that several community members had gathered outside the school with the intention of painting over the graffiti, said school district spokeswoman Felecia Ward. Meehan and school district workers later removed it.
"We don’t know if it was a student, or if it was people from the community," Ward said.
Northeast Detectives originally handled the case, but then gave it to the police department’s conflict prevention and resolution unit (CPR), which investigates reports of hate crimes. So far, no suspects have been identified.
Capt. Jack McGinnis, commander of the detective unit, said there have been no other reports of vandalism or incidents between students at the school so far this year.
In a May Times article on a spate of gun-related incidents at nearby Abraham Lincoln High School, the police department reported that some ethnic tensions plagued students there, but those issues involved black and African-born students.
In June, the Times reported on a blighted basketball court located on Meehan’s property that also included racial graffiti.
Shawn McGuigan, assistant principal at Meehan, said that the atmosphere at the school seems fine.
"We weren’t aware of anything happening around the school," he said.
If you experience an incident of racial bias, call the police CPR unit at 215-685-3693. ••
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com