Graffiti at school shows racism, homophobia rampant, says St. Catharines councillor

After a weekend incident that saw Harriet Tubman Public School in St. Catharines spray-painted with racist and homophobic slurs, Ward 4 councillors Karrie Porter is saying racism, homophobia and transphobia are hitting critical levels in the region.

The vandalism was so bad that at the Henry Street school that even the Harriet Tubman statue was defaced, sullying the visage of St. Catharines’ most famous freedom fighter who lead the movement to get black slaves safely into Canada in the 1800s.

“White supremacy is rampant in St. Catharines/Niagara, and intersects with sexism, transphobia, homophobia and misogyny,” said Porter on her social media. “It’s becoming increasingly violent.”

Porter herself is no stranger to being the subject of graffiti and violence. In the winter, someone vandalized her home with anti-vaxx graffiti along the entire side of her house while a month later, a rock was thrown through her front window.

“(Last night), racist and homophobic slurs were written on the walls of Harriet Tubman School. The statue of Harriet Tubman was also vandalized with paint on the statue and racist, mysoginistic and homophobic slurs,” Porter said. “This is not acceptable in our our city.”

School staff spent Sunday (June 12) trying to clean up the damage and are investigating how to remove the paint from the bronze sculpture.

Tubman escaped slavery and led dozens of others to freedom through the secret network of safe houses and contacts known as the Underground Railroad.