Hamilton caterer won’t be shaken by racist graffiti found on business door

Hamilton police are investigating after a business owner and member of the Afro-Canadian Caribbean Association woke up Wednesday to find hateful and racist graffiti on her front door.

Reena Rampersad says she was going to clean her windows when she discovered the graffiti. While she was shocked to see it, she says she wasn’t really surprised.

“I was a little bit shocked but honestly with what’s going on in the world today maybe not at all,” she says.

Rampersad owns High Society Supper Club on Barton Street East, which is across the street from the Afro-Canadian Caribbean Association where she is a board member.

The unknown suspects wrote racist and hateful messaging on her front door, which she says was intentional because of her advocacy work.

“They obviously know who I am, they know what I stand for, they know what I do, and this is an attempt maybe to I don’t know, shut me up or send a message of some sort,” Rampersad says.

There is messaging in the graffiti associated with white supremacy and neo-Nazism.

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Rampersad says this is an example of how racism and hate is still prevalent in Canada.

“Unfortunately this is not the first time it’s happened to me,” she says.

“I can definitely remember numerous times where my dad had to repaint the side of our garage or our fence because somebody wanted to leave a message…This is not an uncommon story or an uncommon occurrence in our community.”

Hamilton police are aware of the graffiti and they are investigating it. They say hate has no place in the city.

“On July 2 between 1 a.m. and 9 a.m., two suspects approached a business…and wrote some hate-centric wording on the business…and you know hate has no place in the city of Hamilton, we will not tolerate it. It is a cowardly act, and we are disgusted by it,” Cont, Adam Kimber says.

The executive director of Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre says this incident is an example of why education is so important in preventing future racism.

“We know that hate goes underreported in communities, and a part of that is us saying why it’s so key that when incidents like this happen, that people are turning and reporting it either to organizations like ours, which is an independent organization, or to the police,” Lyndon George says.

“We need to be able to take these incidents and go into communities and say very much matter of fact that these incidents are happening, to address the rise of far-right extremism and white supremacy groups operating in our communities. They are active online and they want this type of attention, they actually yearn for it, and that’s the scary part about it.”

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Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath tells CHCH News she is “deeply disturbed” by the hateful graffiti.

“Hamilton stands united against all forms of hate and we remain committed to continuing the work needed to ensure a safe, inclusive and welcoming city for everyone,” reads her statement.

“I want to thank the Hamilton Police Service hate crime unit for their prompt response and ongoing investigation.”

Rampersad says she will not be shaken by the suspect’s message and she will continue to advocate for her community.

“This just shows us we have a lot of work to do on our soil too,” she says.

“We have plenty of work to do and the work is not done, and I will continue until I feel like things are a little bit more positive and a little bit more promising for the next generation.”

Hamilton police are looking for more surveillance or dashcam video of the area in an attempt to identify the suspects.

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