‘I am angry’: Racial slur painted on Kansas City, Kansas, church sign
By Krista Tatschl
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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KMBC) — “Not only is it the N-word on our sign, but now, there are those who are threatening to shoot up our church and this type of foolishness.”
Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree, who also serves as lead pastor of the Grace Tabernacle Family Outreach Center, has to control his anger.
“I am angry. Scripture teaches that we as believers are to be angry, but sin not,” he says.
When he walked into the church on December 6, ready to assist with the children’s choir practice, he was met with kids directing his attention to a spray-painted word smeared across the church sign in black.
“They were saying, ‘Pastor,’ and pointing…It wasn’t just meant for me, but it was for me. Meant for all of my congregants and parishioners,” Dupree says. “There’s no excuse for anyone to be so hateful and malicious, to threaten our church, to threaten my family, and to tag such a heinous word onto our house of worship.”
The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department took a report marking this crime as one of “Hate.”
There are no suspects, and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation told KMBC on Monday that it hasn’t been asked to assist in the investigation.
Dupree’s congregation is predominantly African-American.
He says he has fielded hateful, racially-charged messages on social media and knows of death threats called into the church.
Dupree says he has prayed through and forgives whoever defaced the sign. He even offers an invitation to attend church with his congregation.
“I would grab their right hand and lead them through the Lord’s Prayer and let them know that despite hate, God still loves them and so do I,” he said. “But they still need to be held accountable.”
Anyone with information about this crime should contact the KCK Police Department.
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