Quincy High main target of racist graffiti

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QUINCY “We want a white principal.”

Those words were found on a small tile inside a Quincy High bathroom stall on Thursday. School officials are investigating the incident.

“This graffiti personally threatened me and other members of the school community,” Keith Ford, the school’s first principal of color, wrote in a letter to the community.

I cannot stress enough that this vandalism and hateful behavior will not be tolerated. Students and staff have the right to be in a school environment that feels safe and affirming, Ford wrote.

The graffiti has been removed and an investigation is ongoing, including checking the cameras around the bathroom.

This is something that absolutely will not be tolerated, and if the person is caught there will be significant disciplinary consequences, said Quincy School Superintendent Kevin Mulvey.

More racist words were found in another school bathroom earlier this year.

“This is criminal activity and it will be treated as such,” Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch said in a prepared statement. “We have one of the most diverse and successful school districts in the Commonwealth and we won’t let this kind of appalling behavior change that.”

Quincy police could not be reached for comment Sunday morning.

Ford started as Principal of North Quincy High School in September 2021 before moving to Quincy High School for the 2022-23 school year.

In November 2021, students at Quincy High School staged a walkout in response to a circulating racist video. A black student confronted the white student who created the video, resulting in a fight.

The student body was galvanized and demanded more diversity in staff and programs and an end to racist language. At the time, some students said they felt unsafe and accused the administration of not doing enough to address an occasional climate of racism at school.

Then Quincy High School principal Lawrence Taglieri later joined the program team as part of an administrative reorganization, according to school documents.

Patriot Ledger editor Peter Blandino contributed to this report.

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