‘White People Only’ Stickers Placed in Austin, Texas Hispanic and African-American Communities

Officials in the liberal city of Austin, Texas are looking for suspects behind racially-motivated stickers placed on multiple store windows this week.

At least six shop owners found offensive stickers on their storefronts, each marked with the city logo and a label that read: "Exclusively for white people. Maximum of 5 colored customers, colored BOH (Back of House) staff accepted." The stickers claimed to be sponsored by the Austin Contemporary Partition and Restoration Program, though a statement released by city officials on Wednesday denied any sponsorship.

"This is an appalling and offensive display of ignorance in our city," Mayor Steve Adler said in the statement. "Austin condemns this type of hurtful behavior. Our city is a place where respect for all people is a part of our spirit and soul."

Facebook user Brianna Smith was among the first to notice the vandalism, posting a photo taken outside of Rare Trends, a clothing boutique in a predominately African American neighborhood. "This was a hate crime created by someone who had way to [sic] much time on their hands. This sticker has been unknowingly posted on many private owned businesses in Austin," Smith wrote under her picture. Rare Trends denied any involvement in the incident.

Identical stickers were found outside five other businesses, including a bike store, a bake shop, and two El Chilito Tacos y Café locations.

In an interview with the Daily Texan, Windmill Bicycles owner Sarah Goethe said the stickers did not represent her point of view and all had been taken down before the store opened. "All we're trying to do is run a business. All we're trying to do is make it," Goethe said. "We're part of this community. We've done only good things for this neighborhood - I think that the diverse neighborhood would agree with us."

Latinos and African-Americans make up about 40 percent of Austin's population, mainly from Hispanics who make up about 35 percent of the total. According to the city's official website, AustinTexas.gov, the large influx of Latino families with higher-than-average household sizes and number of children have slowed the increase in the city's age, keeping Austin one of the younger cities in the country.

Lower east Austin, where many stickers were placed, is the political bedrock of Austin's growing Hispanic community.

"Some jokes are not funny," Rep. Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin) wrote under a photo she posted to Facebook. "If this is a joke at all, it is tasteless...I will be damned if this will occur in my House District...in this historically black community or any community."