School district responds to racist language and swastikas in Logan High parking lot – Cache Valley Daily

Photo courtesy of Christopher McGinty, shared on the Cache Valley 411 Facebook group

LOGAN – Graffiti containing swastikas and racial slogans was discovered on Wednesday morning in the parking lot of Logan High School. The words “Black Lives Matter” had already been painted in the space of a parking lot, only for the word “Black” to be covered in black paint. Below, the word “White” was scrawled in chalk. Other slogans and images of white supremacy were also painted or written in chalk.

According to a joint statement released by Logan High School and Logan City School District, the incident in the west parking lot of the school was documented, reported to local law enforcement and promptly removed by maintenance personnel.

The posts referred to white supremacist slogans, the hashtag 1488 which is the code for “Heil Hitler,” a lightning bolt commonly used in racist gangs, and the name of far-right white nationalist political commentator Nick Fuentes. The graffiti also included the year 1776 as well as the hashtags “No White Guilt”, “We Are Everywhere” and “America First”.

“As clearly and explicitly as possible, the Logan City School District and Logan High School condemn both the use of racist language and images in any context, as well as the harmful ideologies that promote their use. “, adds the joint statement. “We are saddened by this act of vandalism and reiterate to our students, staff and the community our commitment to promote a safe and fair learning environment for all students.. “

The school and district also reiterated their support for recent statements by the Utah Board of Education on issues like this:

• Racism in the past and present is destructive to individuals and society as a whole
• Individuals have a fundamental responsibility to treat others with respect and civility, regardless of their race or ethnicity.
• Utah schools should be a place where all students feel safe and have a fair chance at success. Utah law provides that “every public school student should have the opportunity to learn in an environment that is safe, conducive to the learning process, and free from unnecessary disruption.”

In the short time that photos of the incident were posted on social media and quickly went viral, the district said it had already received a significant amount of outreach from the community seeking ways to demonstrate its support for students who could be negatively affected by vandalism.

“With the support of our community we will continue our efforts to provide a positive environment for all students in our schools so that each of them feels valued and safe. We will also continue to support our students and staff in their efforts to promote equity and inclusion, both in our schools and throughout our community. “

Anyone with information regarding vandalism is encouraged to contact Logan City Police.