Disabled veterans find racist note on car: 'Just because you are black and have a nice car does not make you handicapped'
A Texas couple is speaking out after they found a racist note on their car in the parking lot of a supermarket.
Marqueena and Kenneth Moore were grocery shopping at H-E-B in Cypress, Texas, on Tuesday, KVUE reported. They had parked their car in a handicap spot, and when they returned, they spotted a yellow note attached to their windshield.
“Just because you are black and have a nice car does not make you handicapped ;),” read the note left on their car.
Marquenna Moore told KVUE she was “shocked” by the note, “then actually angry, because I’m like, the plates are right there! How do you not see?”
While the Moores don’t have a handicap parking permit hanging from the rearview mirror like most, their say their plates clearly show they are disabled. In addition to their license plate number beginning with the letters “DV,” the words “Disabled Veteran U.S. Armed Forces” are inscribed below.
The Moores met while serving for the U.S. Navy in Japan and have been married for 15 years.
Throughout Marqueena’s eight years of service, and Kenneth’s 12 years, they both proudly served their country. However, their service came at a cost.
“It has been amazing, but it does take a toll on your body mentally and physically,” Kenneth, who suffered from a traumatic brain injury that left him with a stutter, told KVUE.
In addition to both leaving the armed forces with physical injuries, the Moores both suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an ADA-recognized disability.
It is this mental injury that Kenneth says makes it difficult for him and Marqueena to be in crowded public places like a grocery store.
“My self and my wife served this country. So please before you are bothered or angry about seeing a Disabled Veteran plate in a handicap spot, this is to remind people of the sacrifice we made and should be thanked, not slandered with false information,” reads a Facebook post on Marqueena and Kenneth Moore’s joint account, according to KVUE.
Yahoo Lifestyle’s attempts to contact the Moores were not immediately successful.
According to the Lone Star Veteran’s Association, a qualifying veteran must at least have a 50 percent service-related disability rating from the Department of Veterans Affairs, or 40 percent due to amputation of a lower extremity.
After finding the note, the Moores returned to the store, where employees helped them identify the person who left the note on their car, KVUE reported. Police are also investigating the matter.
“We just wanted to speak up for others who may not have the courage to do so, as well as up for ourselves, to teach and educate people of all ages, demographics, and genders,” the Moores tell Yahoo Lifestyle in a statement. “We wanted to show that standing up when something is wrong is the right and moral thing to do. We spoke up, because someone spoke up for us.”
H-E-B and the Harris County Constable Precinct 4 did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment.
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