SIGNS OF SOLIDARITY
SWARM group paints signs to bolster Black family’s spirit in wake of threatening acts
Candis Howard likes her Warren neighborhood where she has lived for three years. She especially appreciates that it is quiet and that people tend to keep to themselves.
But after an incident last week, Howard has formally met with some neighbors that she’d previously only seen in passing. Last week, her house on Stewart Avenue was egged. And two days later, razor blades with racist and threatening words written on them were strewn on her lawn. Through those incidents, Howard discovered she has a neighborhood support system she never knew existed.
On Monday night, the South Warren Alliance of Radical Movement organized an “art build” to show solidarity with the Howard family. In the driveway of the Howard home, 20 neighbors, friends and members of SWARM painted signs with positive messages — community love; end racism; I stand with the Howard family; and we love our neighbors.
“It really made me feel I have others around me that are watching out for me and my family,” Howard said. “I got to interact with neighbors I had not met before, and it made me feel safer and more at peace. It is a wonderful thing to know that you have people who care about you.”
Some SWARM members canvassed the neighborhood and offered the newly painted lawn signs to any takers.
“Many people took signs,” said Bridget Quinn, who is one of the founding members of SWARM. “Some neighbors met each other for the first time, and the kids shared paints and supplies. Art is such a healing thing. It was so wonderful to share.”
She notes that the incident at the Howard home last week
marks the second attack on a Black family in Warren in less than a year. In September 2020, the Hall family experienced several incidents of vandalism and threats, including having a rock thrown through the window of their home and having their tires slashed.
Howard has been concerned about her 9-yearold daughter, who found the razor blades on the front lawn, and her 15-year-old son who she says were unsettled by last week’s events. She believes painting signs with other kids in the neighborhood was a positive experience for them. Howard said Monday night she was able to get a good night’s sleep for the first time in a week. “My kids were scared at first, but now they know there are other people who care about them outside our own family and that we are not alone,” Howard said.
Warren police told Howard they are currently processing the evidence and looking for fingerprints or DNA on the razor blades, and that procedure could take more than a week. Howard installed security cameras at her home after last week’s incident.
“I’m still a little nervous,” Howard said. “I don’t know if the person who did this has stopped, or if they are just waiting until the publicity dies down to do something else.”
Howard says she hopes the person who did this makes better decisions going forward and that they find peace in Jesus.