Swastikas found on Houston’s Kinkaid School fence

Several swastikas were found on a baseball outfield fence at the Kinkaid School this week, prompting immediate action, Head of School Ed Harris wrote in a statement to families.

The images were removed and cleaned once the school was notified about them, Harris said. He called the hate symbols “vile images” and an “ugly display” and said the school is investigating the cause of the vandalism. The leader pledged to hold whoever is responsible for the incidents accountable. 

“Any form of antisemitism, hate, or divisive behavior has zero place here at Kinkaid. It will not be tolerated. Ever!” Harris wrote Wednesday. 

The vandalism comes months after Kinkaid faced criticism over a display about Palestine at its annual Culture Fest that drew backlash from the advocacy group StopAntisemitism, which describes itself as a “watchdog group” for anti-Jewish rhetoric. 

The poster featured a map of Palestine and information about the state without labeling Israel on the map, which the group called “anti-Israel propaganda.” 

Just days after the poster went viral on social media — and was called out by leaders including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz — the school’s former Head of School, Jonathan Eades, announced his resignation.

He wrote at the time that the move was unrelated to any specific events that had occurred, but asked community members “not to engage” with the “unproductive and divisive speech” that was spreading across social media.

The vandalism incident comes early in Harris’ tenure as Kinkaid’s new head of school. Harris is a longtime employee of the Memorial-area private school, where he has served as chair of upper school history among other roles.

“At Kinkaid, we will not shy away from moments like this. We will do what great schools do — use it as a time to teach, to learn, and to come together around knowledge, goodness, and our Core Values,” Harris wrote to the community this week. “We must be a school that rises above the destructive divisions and hate beyond our campus and instead model in everything we do the best of what is possible.”