Racial slur graffitied on Huntsville homeowner's door amid tensions with neighborhood association

ByMycah Hatfield KTRK logo

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Huntsville homeowner believes he knows who graffitied slur on door

Only ABC13 is speaking with a Huntsville homeowner, who's Black, after a racial slur was graffitied on his door.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (KTRK) -- A man showed up to his home in Huntsville on Monday morning to find racist graffiti painted on his back door.

The message on Mario Roberson's door reads, "We don't like your kind," and ends with a racial slur.

"People are being terrible because of the hatred in their heart," Roberson told ABC13. "I'll start by saying that."

He said the message appeared two days after a contentious Waterwood neighborhood members' meeting Saturday.

"As I was talking, I was getting interrupted," Roberson said. "The board and their attorneys allowed the interruption. This guy was getting violent. He made a threat towards me."

Roberson said he pointed the harassing behavior out to the president of the neighborhood association, and they told him that he could leave instead.

He said he brought up the treatment he experienced that he believes is racially motivated in the meeting, and many of the people there shook their head in disagreement.

Roberson, who has owned a home in the neighborhood since 2016, said he has always been discriminated against. Still, it has escalated since he purchased an additional investment property about seven months ago.

Roberson said his trash is not getting picked up, while his neighbors' are. He also said he is not allowed to host golf events at the neighborhood's course.

The message that appeared on his door was the tipping point.

"What goes through my mind is as educated and as many resources I think we have in today's society, that that's just pure ignorance," he said.

While he does not know who did it, he believes he knows who is behind it.

"I believe I know where it began and I think it's our board," Roberson said. "It's the Waterwood Improvement District, and several people believe the same thing."

Roberson said the recent events have opened some neighbors' eyes to what he has endured.

"This is jealousy," Roberson recalling what neighbors have told him. "This is racism at its finest."

He filed a report with the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office, which said it's still looking into the case.

ABC13 tried to speak to the executive director of the neighborhood's board on Tuesday. She said she would not comment without her attorney present.

Eyewitness News also spoke to the neighborhood's attorney, Mitchell Katine, who said the community does not tolerate discrimination of any kind and believes the person responsible for the graffiti should be prosecuted. He called Roberson's allegation against the board "outrageous," adding that he doesn't think it has any basis.

Despite what happened, Roberson said he does not want to leave the community.

"We're told we can't do these things and we actually listen to them and not move forward with our life goals, and therefore, I am going to stay here and maybe buy a couple of more homes," Roberson said.

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