'We're not moving': NE Philly dance studio seeks answers after receiving hateful message
NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA - Members of a Black-owned dance studio are appalled, and looking for answers after a hateful sign was left on the front of the business.
"If she were to see me, I’m letting her know, we’re not moving. We’re standing firm and we believe in it. Nobody’s pushing us out, no one at all," stated owner Kayla Shuler.
Shuler owns Kreative Legends, a budding two-year-old dance studio that is growing every day, so much so, in fact, that they had to move out of their previous building in Germantown and into an Oxford Circle location, to accommodate the more than 130 students enrolled in various classes.
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The mood has been exciting, hopeful and electric. All of that changed October 16 when a woman posted signs on the building, as seen in surveillance video.
"It says, ‘You’re not welcome,’ or ‘You not welcomed,’ and, so, imagine my shock for the parents? They had three to six-year-olds in ballet, currently during business, out in broad daylight and they see ‘You’re not welcome,’" Shuler described her horror.
The hateful phrase was immediately photographed by parents and workers, then taken down.
Shuler believes it was intentional and meant to intimidate.
"Yes, I do feel like we were targeted. We’re obviously a minority-owned studio, owned by a Black woman. They’re targeting children, at that! A youth program!" Shuler exclaimed.
A police report has been filed and the person seen on video has not, yet, been identified.
Tanishia Feggans has three children enrolled in classes at the school. She’s at a loss as to why the business was singled out.
"They come here, they don’t bother anybody, they come to the class, they leave class. There’s nothing going on outside. They’re literally coming, doing their dances and leaving," Feggans explained.
Shuler’s aunt, Latasha Miller, works at the school and her children are enrolled.
"We do belong here. We will be here. We’re not going anywhere. No one’s going to chase us out," Miller remarked.
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