It seems as if someone in a Stamford, Conn., neighborhood could not stand to constantly be reminded that racists live among the neighbors. The racial slur that was spray-painted across an interracial couple’s garage door in January was painted over this week by an unidentified party.
According to the New York Times, sometime between late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, someone covered up the racist graffiti with black paint. The couple—Heather Lindsay, who is white, and her husband, Lexene Charles, who is black—could not be reached for comment about the cover-up.
The couple’s story made national headlines after they refused to remove the slur despite receiving from the city a blight citation that carried a $100 daily fine.
Lindsay, at the time, said that she would not remove the word until authorities “[did] their job” and “not just cover it up and sweep it under the table as they have done in the past.”
The couple remained fast in their choice, ignoring offers from the police chief and the mayor to help clean up the damage as well as the threats of the citation.
Lindsay recounted that her home had been vandalized several times and that at least three neighbors had called her husband the n-word. Lindsay and Charles were both demanding action in their silent protest, although the sight of the word apparently upset some in the town.
At any rate, Libby Carlson, a spokesperson for Stamford Mayor David R. Martin, told the Times that the city would not fine the couple for not dealing with the graffiti. She added that police canvassed neighbors, who reportedly had not seen who painted over the slur. The investigation into who painted the slur remains open.
However, the couple apparently have another citation to address, dating to 2012, for debris at the property. According to Carlson, the city sued Lindsay for ignoring the notice, and the fees, which continued to rack up, exceed $130,000. Carlson said that the mayor, the city’s lawyer and the couple were expected to meet Friday to resolve that issue. The city was reportedly trying to acquire the property in a foreclosure lawsuit that was set to go to trial next week.
Read more at the New York Times.