Vandal defaces Black Oakland family’s home

A vandal defaced a Black family’s Oakland home, spraypainting “all lives matter” and other graffiti on the exterior of the house late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.

Tacelia Senegal, 52, has lived in the home in the Melrose neighborhood with her family since she was a child. She was out of town and was alerted to the vandalism when a neighbor called Sunday morning.

Senegal said she does not know why her home was targeted.

“It’s disheartening,” she told

The Chronicle. “I don’t have any enemies. There’s nobody that I know that would do this . ... We’re all just kind of dumbfounded.”

Senegal said she filed a police report. Oakland police did not reply to requests for comment Sunday afternoon.

The vandalism struck a nerve in the tightknit, traditionally Black neighborhood, which has been gentrifying in recent years, according to residents. Neighbors described it as a diverse and welcoming community that openly supports the Black Lives Matter movement.

The phrase “all lives matter” is frequently used by opponents of Black Lives Matter, who argue that people should not only advocate for justice and equality for Black people, but all Americans.

The vandal spraypainted the phrase at the front and on a side of the home, along with an expletive and two caricatures.

“It’s bold,” said Dave Angelillo, who lives two doors down from Senegal. “It’s like in the middle of the block.”

Angelillo said he was surprised to see the vandalism because many people have lived in the neighborhood for many years and the community is “very diverse.”

Longtime resident Elizabeth Gettelman Galicia said she had not seen that kind of vandalism in the community until Sunday morning.

“This is a historically Black, workingclass neighborhood where gentrification is already a threat to Black livelihood,” Galicia said. “Neighbors here are vocal racial justice advocates, but this makes clear that hate and bigotry is everywhere; we have to root it out, in ourselves and our communities.”

Senegal said she’s focusing on the positive in light of what happened.

“I know there’s still good,” she said. “I treat people the way that I want my children and my fellow humans to be treated. The way that I wanted to be treated. But I’ve grown up with enough drama to know that we don’t always get treated the way we want to, so it’s incumbent upon us to take that extra step and go beyond the disappointment and disheartening situations and stay positive.”