To the Editor: On February 3 unsigned three-fold flyers with racist overtones were circulated around Providence and Pawtucket titled (“Negro Crime in Mayor Jorge O. Elorza’s Sanctuary …
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To the Editor:
On February 3 unsigned three-fold flyers with racist overtones were circulated around Providence and Pawtucket titled (“Negro Crime in Mayor Jorge O. Elorza’s Sanctuary City of Providence, RI”); the president of the NAACP-Providence Branch, Jim Vincent, was the main target. This was an outrageously racist and anti- immigration attack on minorities in Rhode Island. Fear-mongering tactics embellishing minority crime are tragically popular political strategies.
We, at Hope and Change for Haiti (HCH) and Cranston Action Network (CAN), strongly condemn that flyer, and all personal attacks against community activists. We vigorously condemn all forms of discrimination, bigotry, hate, intimidation, racism, xenophobia, and violence perpetrated in our state based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion and ethnicity. We stand in solidarity and respect with Cranston resident Jim Vincent, as well as anyone who opposes hate and encourages equity and inclusion in Rhode Island.
Vile language and vague allegations of wrongdoing were used to attack an honorable citizen of Cranston, a longtime leader and champion of diverse communities’ progress in Rhode Island. These derogatory, racist remarks against our fellow community member cannot be taken lightly. They affect more than the intended targets; they affect our entire community. The wrong and dangerous intent of the authors of this hateful pamphlet is to divide us; instead, it confirms and deepens our solidarity with community activists, agents of change, and our neighbors and friends.
As Martin Luther King Jr. said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” We stand solidly united as a community against this injustice.
Norly Germain,
Hope and Change for Haiti
Melissa Jenkins,
Cranston Action
Network
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