Katy Brown Sugar Café and Books store vandalized with racist graffiti before opening

Raven White, owner of Brown Sugar Café and Books, said: ‘I got to the corner and was completely shocked.

White believes that hate speech and racism were spray-painted all over the back of the building from late last Friday night to Saturday morning.

“It’s not even your normal racial hatred. It’s deep-seated racial hatred,” White said.

RELATED STORY: The owner asked the graffiti artist to cover the building to fight vandals

The hurtful words have been painted more now. White said it was thousands of dollars worth of damage, but she decided not to report it to the police.

“With someone leaving (spraying on the wall) the name of a student from Thornton Middle School right behind us, like we could throw a rock and hit the school, we realized it was possible. that person has something to do with the school,” White said. .

She doesn’t know for sure it’s a student at a nearby school, however, she says she had a nice conversation with the principal and that instead of trying to punish the culprit, she hopes to help.

“We agree that there are other things we can do together as a community, with middle schools and bookstores, that will drive change,” said White.

When the bookstore opens in February, White said there will be a program to help people of all ages understand how to integrate and respect other cultures.

“It’s really a hate crime that can come from a child,” said White. “We need people around to help our children and the community feel differently than they do on the surface,” said White. the wall behind us”.

While this isn’t how she imagined her small business journey started, she said she feels more confident than ever in her mission.

“It confirms that the programs that we’re running and are right here in this community, we’re in the right place at the right time,” White said.

SEE RELATED STORY: Houston police surprise small business owners after vandalism

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