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People are calling for action after someone painted the N-word and “Fuck BLM” on “The Romeo Rock.” Though its named after the city of Romeo, the rock is actually in Washington Township on Van Dyke Avenue.
The unknown vandal or vandals painted over a “Black Lives Matter” message Saturday night.
The incident generates heated conversation on social media, with many calling attention to the fact that it was painted in the cover of night to avoid detection. WWJ’s Zach Clark, who grew up in the area, weighed in recently on Twitter.
Welcome to Romeo, Michigan ladies and gentlemen. This rock has been a billboard for birthdays, anniversaries, congratulations and condolences (we painted it in 2002 when my best friend was killed in a car accident). And now this? I will not stand for it. But I also won’t raise a pic.twitter.com/Zk4G2Ugdif
— Zach Clark (@ZachEClark) June 8, 2020
The rock has since been painted over, and reads “Romeo won’t stand for racism,” as shown on Facebook:
The surrounding community has caught flak in recent years for openly racist incidents, notably at Romeo High School. Students were alleged to use the N-word. During the 2016 controversy, one student posted to Twitter, saying he and his “country boys” would run black students over with their trucks, WDIV reported.
The Macomb County Sheriff's offices has filed a report, WXYZ reported.
