I approve, but...

No tolerance for racism

Snohomish County residents have responded with shock, anger and resolve to a cross-burning at the Arlington home of a black minister.

Another clear sentiment is embarrassment such thing still might happen. Thirteen years have passed since a Bothell family found the loathsome and unequivocally racist symbol in its yard.

The response has been swift. Arlington police teamed with the FBI to investigate this hate crime. The school district expressed its support to Pastor Jason Martin and his family, and Arlington High School is using the act as a teachable moment in classrooms.

Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon wants a newly forming Community Council to explore diversity issues.

The Interfaith Association of Snohomish County is organizing the most outward and visible sign of the community's repudiation of the cross-burning.

A show of solidarity and support is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. tomorrow at Martin's Jesus is Lord Life Tabernacle Church in Marysville. A spectrum of faith groups and leading civic organizations, including the United Way of Snohomish County and Providence Everett Medical Center, will be represented.

A powerful symbol was invoked out of ignorance or hatred. Residents are pulling together to say this is not who we are, and this racist trespass will not go unchallenged.


This is both a show of how far things have come and how far they have to go. The fact that "Thirteen years have passed since a Bothell family found the loathsome and unequivocally racist symbol in its yard" means someone had a cross burned in their yard in 1991. On a societal timescale that's, like, yesterday.

Posted by Prometheus 6 on March 27, 2004 - 4:29pm :: Race and Identity
 
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Yeah, I posted about this story the other day.

Those of us in the Seattle-area tend to think that the white supremacists are all over in rural Eastern Washington. They are, but they've also been moving into Western Washington in recent years. There is also plenty of racism not connected with these groups, and it's not in the distant past. There was a recent case in a town about 20 miles from where I live of some really egregious persecution of African-American students at their high school.

I don't know if the situation is any worse here than it is in other parts of the country but we pride ourselves on being very progressive and so we like to think that racism doesn't exist anymore.

Posted by  Al-Muhajabah (not verified) on March 27, 2004 - 6:00pm.

Trackback from Al-Muhajabah's Islamic Blogs:

This story caught my eye since it's sort of local: A cross was burned on the front lawn of a......

Posted by  Al-Muhajabah's Islamic Blogs (not verified) on March 27, 2004 - 6:17pm.

1991 isn't the latest either... Six Plead Guilty In Civil Rights Case: Cross Burning In North Georgia, which occurred in November of '03, which is really like yesterday. Also: Six men sued for northwest Georgia cross-burning or Least competent good ol� boys. And, being a mother of a multiracial child, I cannot help noticing that the media cannot get it straight on the boyfriend's ethnic makeup (I don't subscribe to the one drop rule, by the way). One report states the boyfriend is black while the other states biracial.

Related: Supreme Court Weighs Cross-Burning Bans

Posted by  Deb (not verified) on March 27, 2004 - 8:00pm.