A piece of graffiti in Saskatoon has stirred up a lot of controversy in the city.

A racist slur was painted on a bench along the river, near the University of Saskatchewan. The graffiti was painted over on Thursday and police are investigating the matter.

Dusty Rose said she found the racist message on Tuesday night. Rose took a photo and posted it online. The photo was shared more than 160 times on social media.

Rose said she is saddened by the graffiti.

"I know people try to ignore that there is racism in the city or in Saskatchewan or in Canada, but this just goes to show it is out there whether they choose to believe it is or not," Rose said.

Rose said her decision to share the photo was difficult to make.

"I didn't know what to do," Rose said. "But I did decide to take the picture just so people could see how prevalent racism is in Saskatoon.

Replay this morning's live chat about whether racism is a problem in Saskatchewan.