Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan and the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry have offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the individual or individuals who spray-painted a racial slur at the entrance to Lincoln University.

Lincoln University is located in the rolling hills of southern Chester County. Lincoln was founded in 1854. As Horace Bond, the eighth president of the university stated, Lincoln was “the first institution found anywhere in the world to provide a higher education in the arts and sciences for male youth of African descent.” Poet Langston Hughes and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall are graduates of Lincoln University.

On February 19, 2015, university security officials discovered that somebody had spray-painted a racial slur on a sign at the entrance to the university.

Chamber President Guy Ciarrocchi stated, “This vandalism is not only shocking, it is offensive. It is even worse when the targets are students. These students are here to grow and contribute to society. They deserve much better. We stand with not only with the District Attorney’s Office, but with the vast majority of Chester County residents and business owners who want Lincoln’s students to feel welcome.”

District Attorney Tom Hogan stated, “Racism and ignorance go hand-in-hand, and neither will be tolerated in Chester County. Whether the university is Villanova, Penn State, or Lincoln, such behavior is unacceptable in a civilized society. It is a crying shame that a university named after Abraham Lincoln has been subjected to this type of disrespect.”

Anybody with information is requested to call Chester County Detective Edward Nolan at 610-344-6866.

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Top photo courtesy of Chester County Planning Commission.