Racist words painted on Northern Colorado tree, then covered up by hearts supporting inclusion
The town of Wellington is known for its small-town atmosphere. However, over the weekend, a tree near a park became the center of attention after racist and graphic graffiti were painted on it.
Tiffany Breckenridge, a parent who lives in the Colorado town, said she noticed something unusual while in the area.
"I saw it. The red caught my eye," Breckenridge told CBS Colorado.
Breckenridge took photos of the tree. The images showed racial slurs and sexual drawings painted in red, along with the letters associated with the Ku Klux Klan.
The discovery was especially upsetting for Breckenridge because of the potential impact on children in the community.
"I was so devastated. I have biracial kids myself, and so just thinking about them seeing that, or anybody else seeing that, it really was disheartening," Breckenridge said.
The tree also had ropes hanging from it. Some people say the ropes were previously there and had been used by children to swing from the tree.
"But, put together with (the racist paintings), the imagery that that created was horrific and very much overtly racist," Breckenridge said.
She turned to social media to ask how the community could respond.
"What can we do to take care of this? And it was just an overwhelming, wonderful response," Breckenridge explained.
People came to the tree and painted over the graffiti, replacing the offensive images with gold hearts meant to show that everyone is welcome.
Breckenridge said she hopes the community's response leads to a broader change.
"What I'm hoping to see is a shift in that, a change to where people aren't comfortable being (racist)," Breckenridge said.
The Larimer County Sheriff's Office said investigators were sent to look into the graffiti. So far, investigators have been unable to determine who spray-painted the tree.
Breckenridge said she believes teenagers might have been responsible and hopes whoever did it understands the harm caused by the graffiti and changes their thinking to be more loving and accepting.
She also said the incident created an opportunity for people to have conversations about racism and what is acceptable in the community.
"I know that it opened a lot of those doors of having those conversations, and just making it uncomfortable for that to be the norm or for that to be OK. And our town really did a wonderful job with saying, 'We are not going to tolerate this,'" Breckenridge said.
