You'd be hard pressed to drive down any street in suburban America right now and not see a graduation sign in the front yard. After the global health crisis halted graduation ceremonies across the nation, proud parents resorted to celebrating their kids' achievements any way they could — with drive-by graduations, virtual parties, and yes, tons of yard signs. But the parents of two Black teens in Yulee, Florida, were shocked when their graduation signs prompted a stranger to write them an angry racist letter.
Like many 2020 graduates, Xanah and Xarah Sproul were excited to walk at graduation this year.
The twin sisters, who were high school seniors, certainly had a lot to be proud of. Both were graduating with honors from Yulee High School, where they were straight-A students as well as members of the National Honor Society, VyStar program and Beta Club. They're also heading to Saint Leo University in the fall, where they both received a full ride. (According to News 4 JAX, they are the recipients of four-year Tipping the Scale scholarships through the Boys and Girls Club.)
So it's no wonder that their parents, David and Toya Sproul, wanted to decorate their front stoop with graduation signs celebrating their daughters' achievements.
"They've been ridiculously hard-working girls ever since kindergarten," David recently told BuzzFeed News. "They've always pushed for the best. As twins, especially, they work together and help each other."
But the parents never could have imagined that the signs would spark such hate — such racism — in the heart of someone who saw them.
The Sprouls received a letter in the mail July 23 that sent a chill down their spines.
It read, in full:
"Resident: Don't you think enough is enough? It's time to take those hideous posters of that ugly fat black girl down off your house. What a disgrace to the neighborhood. In fact, your entire brood is a disgrace to the neighborhood. Consider moving to a 'hood' of your kind. Your neighbors are watching you!"
As David read the letter aloud to his wife, she initially thought it was some kind of twisted joke.
"I thought he was kidding because he's a comedian," Toya Sproul told News 4 JAX. "He was like, 'I wouldn't joke and say that about them,' and I snatched the letter, and I'm like, 'Oh.'"
Moments later, Toya called the police and reported the incident. Then they broke the news to their daughters.
"They kind of threw [the letter] down and then they went about their way," David told BuzzFeed. "They are aware of what's going on in the country [with Black Lives Matter protests] but after reading it they could clearly see that the person doesn't know them. That's the nature of how they are because they're just super sweet girls."
It's been a week since the letter arrived, and the Sprouls say they still have no idea who sent it.
Still, they admit that its message is sadly indicative of what's happening throughout the US now, as racial tensions have heated up in the wake of George Floyd's death while in police custody, protests have erupted in countless cities, and similar racist incidents have been reported.
Even so, the family never thought it would happen to them — and certainly not in their small, quiet community.
"You see all the things happening all across the country," David Sproul said. "It's one thing when it's across the country, but it's absolutely different when it's literally in your own yard, literally in your own house."
The identity of the letter writer remains quite a mystery for police.
According to reports, it was typed rather than handwritten and was left unsigned with no return address. Although the author claimed to be a fellow resident of Timber Creek Plantation, where the Sprouls' home is, the note was actually postmarked in Jacksonville, Florida, some 25 miles away.
For now, the Sprouls are trying not to let the incident rattle them too much.
"We love everybody," Toya said. "We've raised our kids that way, which is why they're really not that bothered by it. Because we're not gonna return hate, we're not gonna retaliate in that way."
But letting something like this go is easier said than done — especially when you consider the last line of the letter, which warns that "Your neighbors are watching you."
Toya Sproul told News 4 Jax that the line has left her concerned for her family's safety. And how could it not?
Still, the support of friends and neighbors, who have rallied around them in the last week, has been helping.
In fact, since news of the letter spread throughout the small community, neighbors have been stopping by — some honking and waving, some leaving handwritten cards — to show their love and support.
One neighbor, Rowdy Griffin, told News 4 reporters that he was one of them. He wants the Sprouls to know they are accepted by their neighbors and safe in their own community.
"I stopped by just to show our support as a neighborhood," Griffin shared. "You know, the actual thing going on, it is complete garbage. The letter that they received does not speak for this neighborhood at all, you know we're a pretty positive neighborhood. We all come together for each other, and I just want to show my support for them."
Griffin feels so strongly about this that he's working on making some new yard signs.
They say "Timber Creek Strong," and he hopes to hand them out to neighbors so the Sprouls can clearly see how loved they are by the people around them.
To the twins, that means everything.
"We know we have a great support system and everyone is on our side so we will get over it and get justice," Xanah told the news station.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the matter and has filed it as a "threats and harassment" incident.
In response to a recent inquiry from BuzzFeed, the department said it is taking things very seriously.
"We at the Nassau County Sheriff's Office do not tolerate racism and hate crimes in our county," Undersheriff Roy Henderson explained in a statement. "This is out of character for Nassau County and we will continue to investigate this incident. We are proud of the Sproul twins' accomplishments and hope to get to the bottom of this soon."
