When the Sproul twins graduated from high school, the family celebrated their accomplishments by putting posters of the girls up in front of the home. Last week, the family discovered that someone had left a racist letter in their mailbox, asking them to take the images down.
David Sproul was furious when he came home from work on Thursday, July 23, to find a nasty letter in his mailbox, written about his identical twin daughters Xanah and Xarah.
As he began reading the letter aloud to his wife Toya, she thought he must be joking. The letter read: “Don’t you think enough is enough? It’s time to take those hideous pictures of that ugly black girl down.”
“I thought he was kidding because he’s a comedian,” Toya Sproul said. “He was like, ‘I wouldn’t joke and say that about them,’ and I snatched the letter, and I’m like, ‘Oh,’ and I called the police right away.”
Xanah and Xarah just graduated from Yulee High School in their Jacksonville, Florida, suburb with straight A’s. The girls were highly involved at their school, members of the National Honor Society, and held leadership roles such as section leader in marching band.
The letter went on to call the Sprouls a “disgrace to the neighborhood,” and asked the family to consider moving to a “hood of your kind.” The letter ends with, “Your neighbors are watching you!”
The Nassau County Sheriff’s department responded to the incident, saying, “We at the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office do not tolerate racism and hate crimes in our county.” The office also said they are investigating the matter and offered the Sproul twins congratulations for their accomplishments.
The twins took the letter in stride and are highly aware of the current racial climate and the Black Lives Matter movement. “They kind of just threw [the letter] down and went about their way,” said David Sproul.
Sproul also said the twins hold each other accountable and push one another to do their best academically. Each of them will attend Florida’s St. Leo University in the fall on four-year premed scholarships.
In the days since news of the racist letter spread online, the family has received significant support from the community, and a drive-by parade is scheduled for later in the week.
