Brick wrapped in note with racial slur found at Black-owned cafe, Illinois police say

Authorities are investigating a brick wrapped in a note with a racial slur discovered outside a Black-owned business in Illinois.

A racist message was scrawled on notebook paper around the brick near the door of Live Cafe in Oak Park, a Chicago suburb, police say. A passerby reported a window of the business sustained damage Wednesday morning, but officers found no signs it was broken, police say.

Investigators say the attempted vandalism may be a hate crime.

“Oak Park police consider this to be a very serious incident, even though the property sustained little if any damage,” Oak Park Police Chief LaDon Reynolds said in a news release. “This type of cowardly act is not indicative of our community and we will investigate vigorously.”

Live Cafe and Creative Space posted photos of the brick with a message using a racial slur that stated no Black people should be on an election ballot.

Two Black candidates are seeking election to the Oak Park village board in April, OakPark.com reported. An electoral board met Wednesday night to hear evidence on objections to the candidates’ petitions to appear on the ballot, the news outlet reported.

“You impacted everybody with just one brick. Just one,” Reesheda Graham Washington, owner of Live Café and Creative Space, said at a news conference Thursday, according to WLS. “This is the most efficient way to attempt to sit us down. But not on our watch.”