Even though vandals have spray-painted racist graffiti on her hair salon, Cora Stewart has no plans to abandon her year-old business in Edgewater.
Mrs. Stewart, 30, said she learned about the vandalism when her aunt and the mother of one of her co-workers called her at her Shady Side home about 8:30 a.m. Friday and told her someone had spray-painted the salon's door and window.
"I was upset," said the owner of The Difference Hair Salon in the 100 block of Mayo Road.
"I wanted to get [there] as fast as possible to see how much damage was done."
When she arrived, Mrs. Stewart found racist slogans and several swastikas spray-painted on the salon's front door and window and the building's back wall.
Police say the vandalism occurred between 6 p.m. Thursday and 8:30 a.m. Friday.
Mrs. Stewart thinks the incident is related to recent Ku Klux Klan activity in the area. A few Klan members held a rally Oct. 1 at Mayo Road and Stepneys Lane, about a half-block from her salon, Mrs. Stewart said.
During that rally, about 15 Klan members handed out literature, while about a dozen county police officers looked on, as a precautionary measure.
An Edgewater man was arrested after snatching a KKK flag from one of the Klansmen.
Annapolis Alderman Carl O. Snowden said KKK activity in the southern part of the county has been increasing. He urged that those responsible for the vandalism be "prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
"It's clear this is a racially motivated incident designed to intimidate the business person," Mr. Snowden said.
Officer Randy Bell, county police spokesman, said, "The racial slur and the swastika are not evidence of Klan involvement." He said the investigation would be handled by a Southern District detective.
There have been no previous incidents of racist graffiti being spray-painted on Mrs. Stewart's salon, Officer Bell said.
Mrs. Stewart said cleaning up won't cost her much because neighbors and others in the community have offered to help paint over the graffiti.
"I'm getting a lot of help from businesses, friends, everybody," she said.
"A lot of whites who live in the area have been coming out and supporting me."
The incident has not cost her any business. No one canceled an appointment as a result of the graffiti.
"I'm quite crowded," Mrs. Stewart said.
Mrs. Stewart, who has lived in Shady Side with her husband and 7-year-old daughter for five years, said the incident "hurt my feelings," but only increased her resolve to stay.
"I'm not one to give up easily," she said. "I'm not going to give up my business."