Everett mayor pushes back on hate group
A white supremacist organization hung a recruitment banner on a city flyover. The mayor replaced it with a new banner with a broader message.
EVERETT, Washington. – Everett opposes a white supremacist propaganda campaign hitting the city. Hate messages are posted in public places as a recruiting tool, not just in Snohomish County.
A banner reading “Reclaim America” was hung on Everett’s flyover on 25th Street by members of the white supremacist organization Patriot Front about a week ago. The group was formed after the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.
When the news of the banner reached Mayor Cassie Franklin, she took it personally.
“It’s just so much frustration and disappointment,” she said. “Something like that doesn’t belong anywhere in this city.”
Everett wasn’t the only town targeted.
Around the same time, members of the Patriot Front posted pictures of themselves hanging banners over Interstate 90 in Seattle on their website.
They too read Reclaim America, just like they did in Everett.
“Unfortunately, we are currently experiencing an enormous resurgence of domestic extremism in our country,” said Miri Cypers of the Anti-Defamation League.
Cypers called the sudden appearance of the signs a “recruiting campaign”.
According to the ADL, the amount of white supremacist propaganda has skyrocketed in recent years.
In 2018, 1,214 reports were submitted there. That number more than doubled to 2,724 in the next year. By 2020, the number doubled again to 5,725 incidents.
Washington has the third highest per capita hate crime rate in the US, according to the ADL.
“There is a long, dark history of white supremacy in this state,” said Cypers. “For decades Washington has been a hotbed of activity and a home for people who want to make a state just for whites.”
Somebody tore down the Everett offensive banner before the city crews could reach it, but the mayor was not happy to let the incident overturn.
She ordered a new banner to replace the racist one.
The new banner reads, “Everyone is welcome to Everett. No place for hate.”
“I did this because I think it’s important to take action. Not just to jot down hateful messages, but to counter it, ”Franklin said. “We all live with so much fear and fear now that we have to stand up for what we believe is right.”
Cypers said this was the right move.
“I think what Everett did without brushing it under the rug to fester, and talking about how all members of our community belong and are safe. I think the banner they put up in response, was the perfect answer, “said Cypers.
In direct response to the racist banner, Franklin decided to use some discretionary funds from her office’s budget to raise more banners of inclusivity in other parts of the city.