A Black Family Received A Racist Letter About Their Twin Daughters After Celebrating Their Graduation

Toya T'mour Sproul / Via Facebook.com

Last Thursday, David Sproul came home from work and found a letter in his mailbox that left him angry and his wife in tears.

"It's time to take those hideous posters of that ugly fat black girl down off your house," says the anonymous typed note, referring to signs displayed on the Sprouls' home that celebrate the high school graduation of their identical twin daughters, Xanah and Xarah.

"What a disgrace to the neighborhood," the letter continues. "In fact, your entire brood is a disgrace to the neighborhood. Consider moving to a 'hood' of your kind. Your neighbors are watching you!"

Other residents of the Timbercreek Plantation subdivision in Yulee, Florida, posted similar congratulatory signs for family members, but only the Sprouls received a piece of hate mail.

"I started reading the letter out loud to my wife and she thought I was joking. And I'm like, 'There's no way I would ever say that about my daughters,'" Sproul told BuzzFeed News. "And so she grabbed the letter and she read it and instantly got furious and confused."

WJXT / Via news4jax.com

Sproul's wife, Toya, called the police and filed a report, a copy of which was provided to BuzzFeed News by the Nassau County Sheriff's Office.

“We at the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office do not tolerate racism and hate crimes in our county," Undersheriff Roy Henderson said 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.”

Sproul said his daughters were out of the house when he picked up the letter and while the sheriff's deputy was there filling out a report. He braced for the girls' reaction to the letter when they returned later Thursday evening.

"They kind of threw [the letter] down and then they went about their way," Sproul said. "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."

The twins graduated from Yulee High School with honors and were section leaders in the school band and members of the National Honor Society. They also have two Microsoft certifications, according to Sproul, who runs Island Tech Support, a local IT firm. Xanah and Xarah are heading to Saint Leo University in the fall with scholarships to study in the school's honors premed program.

"They've been ridiculously hard-working girls ever since kindergarten," Sproul said. "They've always pushed for the best. As twins, especially, they work together and help each other."

Toya T'mour Sproul / Via facebook.com

The Sproul family

After word of the racist letter spread on Twitter, the community stepped up to show support for the family. A drive-by parade for the twins is planned for later this week, people are stopping by the house and calling to show support, and an Amazon wish list was set up so people could purchase school supplies for Xanah and Xarah.

"We're getting responses from New Zealand, South America, Canada, and all over the US. People are voicing their support for them and that's phenomenal," Sproul said.

He said his daughters appreciate the support, but have declined to add items to the Amazon wish list because they aren't seeking attention or gifts.

"They actually hate all of this attention," Sproul said. "But it definitely shows them that there's more love than the hate that's out there. And so for that they've learned to be pretty grateful."

He and his family want to move past the incident, but the letter's last line has stuck with him: "Your neighbors are watching you."

"Are we supposed to be looking over our shoulders now? Is something worse going to happen?" Sproul said. "We no longer feel really comfortable in our house anymore ... we're not living in fear, but at the same time our life is different."