City of Howell speaks out against racist fliers

Once again, the City of Howell finds itself having to take a stand against hate.

This time the hate is being spread by the Patriot Front, a white supremacy group, which placed racist fliers on vehicles outside the Historic Howell Theater on Saturday, Jan. 20. The theater was the location of a fund-raising event for the Sikyha Foundation, which works to help girls in northwest India.

“Once again, Howell was subjected to intolerant and hateful rhetoric by a group not associated with our community,” said Nick Proctor, the city’s mayor in a release. “Although we support the right of free speech, we find this type of expression reprehensible.”

The Patriot Front — the leader of which is an 18-year-old Texas man — sprang from the fallout over the racist rage displayed in Charlottesville this summer. The group connects flier-plastering activists from around the country online. There have been similar activities in Flint and Ann Arbor over the past few months.

You can read all about the Patriot Front by clicking here.

The city has worked tirelessly over the past couple decades to rid itself of the hateful reputation left it by a former grand dragon of the KKK who lived in the area. You can read all about it by clicking here.

Despite all its efforts, the city finds itself again treading its way through a minefield of hate.

Pat Convery, president of the Howell Area Chamber of Commerce, said her organization and the community have worked together for years to create a “welcoming and inclusive atmosphere” in the city.

“These fliers are not from our community,” she said, describing them as “reprehensible.” “They remind us that there is still work to do in this country.”

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The Livingston Post is the only locally owned, all-digital information and opinion site in Livingston County, Mich. It was launched by award-winning journalists who were laid off from the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus by Gannett Co. Inc. in 2009.