Racist graffiti removed from Cedar Rapids home

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Community members worked hard this morning to quickly remove racist graffiti spray-painted on the front of a home along Bever Avenue SE.

The paint was cleaned up by around 10:00 a.m. Ture’ Morrow, with We Are CR, was one of the people who helped get it done.

“Just like after the derecho, just like after the protest over the summertime, in a nutshell, we are CR strong and in the worst of times Cedar Rapids always tend to come together,” Morrow said.

Lynette Tokach lives on the block where the graffiti took place.

Tokach said the house has been the center of problems in the neighborhood. The city has considered it a nuisance property since July. Cedar Rapids Police have responded to a number of issues since January of last year including 13 weapons complaints and 25 disturbances tied to the property. Tokach told us her windows have even been shot out and that she’s not alone.

“It was this window here and this one here,” Tokach said, pointing out which windows on her home.

The vandalized home is a rental property that has been vacant for months. Charles Davisson of Property Holders owns the house. His attorney, Pat Riley, of the Tom Riley Law Firm, said that the city temporarily suspended his client from being able to rent the property out which is something they’re working to appeal.

Riley said Davisson’s property manager lived in the house most recently with his family and they were asked to leave as issues came up, but the racial slur found this morning makes his client concerned there were more to the complaints all along.

“My client does have concerns that some of these complaints might be racially motivated because of the fact that his property manager and his wife and stepson are black. I don’t know if that was the motivation for any or all of the neighbors, but certainly the fact that somebody sprayed that racist graffiti suggests that maybe at least somebody was motivated by that,” Riley said.

As Morrow helped clean up the mess, he acknowledged the city must do better.

While neighbors are fed up with the issues over the last year, Tokach couldn’t believe someone would vandalize the home.

“I don’t know anybody that’s this involved like me and my other friends that would even think to do that. You know we’d be afraid to get shot,” Tokach said.