Racially Motivated Graffiti Defaces Anne Arundel County Church: Officials

GAMBRILLS, MD — A Gambrills church was recently defaced with racially motivated graffiti, officials announced Monday. Anne Arundel County leaders held a press conference at the Kingdom Celebration Center on Tuesday to condemn the vandalization of the church and racism as a whole.

"This is an attack on the psyche, morale and momentum of a church that is about doing good toward all men," Founder and Senior Pastor Antonio Palmer said at the conference. "No matter how small the graffiti, the trespasser left a huge, clear message of racism and hate. I'm quite sure that they desire to inflict harm on myself and members of the African-American community."

One parishioner reported that they were scared to return to church, Palmer said.

"The irreverent graffiti left on the doors of a Black church in 2022 is unacceptable," the pastor and veteran said. "It is an indicator that our country has done a poor job protecting the Black community and houses of worship."

Leaders Announce Plan

Leaders acknowledged that this wasn't the first racist crime in Anne Arundel County. They also predicted that it won't be the last. They all agreed that they must do something to prevent additional acts of hatred in the future.

At the press conference, the Caucus of African American Leaders of Anne Arundel County announced its steps for action. The group said it plans to create a statewide system to simultaneously alert Maryland leaders of racially motivated crimes.

The caucus's convener, Carl Snowden, compared the system to the Amber Alerts issued for abducted children. Snowden said this effort will be named the Emmett Till Project in memory of the 14-year-old boy who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955.

Solidarity Event Slated

Snowden also invited the community to visit the church this Sunday at 11 a.m. to show their solidarity. He expects hundreds of residents, politicians and civil rights organizations to turn out. All are welcome to attend.

"If you really want to know where people stand, look for them during conflict and controversy," Snowden said, paraphrasing Martin Luther King Jr. "People who are with you when everything is going fine are not the way you measure your friends. You measure your friends during conflict and controversy."

Snowden hopes the gathering will show the strength and unity of Anne Arundel County.

"Those who wrote those despicable words ... do not represent Anne Arundel County at its best," the activist said. "They represent Anne Arundel County at its worst."

2 Similar Crimes Hit Odenton

Police said they heard about the racial vandalism at the Kingdom Celebration Center, also known as the New Hope Community Fellowship Church, on Monday around 9:30 a.m. Officers went to the church, located at 952 Annapolis Road, to investigate.

Authorities said the victim showed them the racial epithet, which seemed to be written in pen or marker on a door. There were also newspapers and litter scattered around the property.

A similar crime happened in neighboring Odenton less than a week earlier. A Black Lives Matter sign outside the Ark and Dove Presbyterian Church was vandalized once again, police announced last Thursday.

Officers said the banner, located at 8424 Piney Orchard Parkway, has been vandalized five times in the last two years. Three of those crimes happened in the past two months.

Detectives are still investigating the crimes at both churches. The Anne Arundel County Police Department asked anybody with information to call (410) 222-6155. Tipsters can stay anonymous by dialing (410) 222-4700.