DA Jenkins Calls SF Playground Graffiti a Hate Crime, Promises Investigation

After a racial slur was spray painted onto a building at a city-owned playground in San Francisco’s Lakeview neighborhood overnight Thursday, community members and city officials gathered to raise awareness on Friday.

The building at the Merced Heights Playground was graffitied with an anti-Black slur that appeared to be directed at Youth 1st, an organization that uses the space for summer and after-school programs.

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins condemned the act as a hate crime at the event and said that there would be an investigation by law enforcement agencies.

“San Francisco is not beyond what happened here,” Jenkins said. “We should see more outrage; we should see more people present. Because if we are a city that truly stands for love and for acceptance … we must demand better.”

The building that was graffitied has been used to serve hundreds of meals and to keep children safe and entertained, Dr. Maria Su, the executive director of the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families, said during the event. According to the organization’s website, it has operated at the playground since its founding in 1999.

Renard Monroe, Youth 1st’s director, told community members that he was focused on continuing to serve the children and providing positive messaging to the whole community. Youth 1st programming was set to continue on Friday afternoon.

“We must come together to march through the streets against something like that,” Jenkins said. “That didn’t just happen against an organization and a man, but happened against our children, our babies.”