White Supremacist Group Posters in Croton Condemned
White supremacist group posters that recently appeared on poles in the Village of Croton-on-Hudson near the high school and middle school were widely condemned.
“Westchester County has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and intimidation. White supremacist groups and postings promoting such groups are not welcome here,” the Westchester County Human Rights Commission stated in a release. “The Westchester County Human Rights Commission values dignity, safety, and mutual respect of all people in our borders. We affirm the ideal that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
Croton Police Chief Russel Harper reported on July 25 that on the evening of July 22 police were made aware of signs that had been placed in some locations and had reached out to the Human Rights Commission. Police declined to name the group on the signs “in order to avoid further publicity.”
However, state Senator Terrence Murphy (R/Yorktown) and his potential Democratic challenger, Robert Kesten, both identified the group as Identity Evropa, which was founded in 2016 and has taken anti-capitalist and extreme left wing economic positions while promoting racial segregation.
“This is not the Westchester I grew up in or the Westchester I am raising my kids in. Let’s be unequivocally clear: there is no room in our community for any form of hatred or any association who endorses such hate,” Murphy stated. “I applaud our neighbors and friends in the Croton community who have taken it upon themselves to peacefully counter the Evropa efforts. We should all remember to put love above hate.”
“I am deeply troubled by the hateful flyers that were posted outside of several schools right here in our community. This is racism plain and simple,” Kesten stated. “As friends, neighbors, community members and allies, we cannot stand by while this kind of behavior goes unchecked. This is not the message we should be sending to our children. We stand in full support of the good and decent people of Croton-on-Hudson and the human rights values they stand for.”
The fliers were taken down and replaced by posters that promoted Love Above Hate.
“The Westchester County Human Rights Commission protects the rights of victims of discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodation and credit. The Commission encourages all county residents to report white supremacist public posters, bias crimes and bias incidents to their local law enforcement agencies,” the Commission stated.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
