June 12, 2020
THE WEEK’S BIG 3
A man who rammed his truck into a crowd of peaceful protesters in Virginia on Sunday, injuring one person, is a Ku Klux Klan leader, authorities said. NASCAR said Wednesday that it is banning the display of the Confederate flag at all of its events and properties. A video of a uniformed New York City police officer appearing to make a white power symbol at a George Floyd protest Saturday in New York City has prompted an internal review.
Read on for more on these headlines, news you can use to fight hate and the latest info about ADL from around the country.
1) KKK Leader Intentionally Drives Truck into Crowd of Peaceful Protesters; Injures 1
“Harry Rogers, 36, is ‘an admitted leader of the Ku Klux Klan and a propagandist for Confederate ideology,’ said Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor in a statement. Taylor said Rogers had been ‘driving recklessly down Lakeside Avenue on the median, drove up to the protestors, revved the engine, and drove into the protestors.’” BuzzFeed News: READ MORE
+ ADL Resource: Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
+ ADL Resource: Small But Vocal Array of Right Wing Extremists Appearing at Protests
2) NASCAR Bans Confederate Flag at All Events and Properties
“NASCAR’s new outright ban on the Confederate flag comes more than two weeks after a black man, George Floyd, died when a white Minneapolis police officer named Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, even after Floyd repeatedly said, ‘I can’t breathe.’” CNBC: FULL STORY
+ ADL Hate Symbols Database: Confederate Flag
3) NYPD Officer Appears to Make White Power Sign at Protest, Prompting Probe
“The ‘OK’ gesture has been used by people around the world for centuries, typically to signal consent, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Recently, the hand signal has also been appropriated to represent the letters w and p to signify ‘white power,’ stemming from a hoax in 2017 by members of the website 4chan, an anonymous and unrestricted online message board, the ADL says.” NBC News: FULL STORY
+ ADL Hate Symbols Database: Okay Hand Gesture
KEY ADL SOCIAL STATEMENTS
- As we continue to work on addressing system racism, we need to understand implicit bias…
- To learn how the levels of biased attitudes and behaviors grow in complexity from the bottom to top, see @ADL_Education ’s Pyramid of Hate to learn more..
- In order to help bring about change, we can start in our own homes. Check out our table talk to help guide conversations about #GeorgeFloyd & racism in law enforcement…
IN THE COMMUNITY
- Swastikas, Jewish stars found at Southwest Ohio shopping center (Cleveland Jewish News)
- Racism spikes in Asian American, Jewish and African-American communities during pandemic (FOX Los Angeles – Amanda Susskind interviewed)
- CPD Investigating After Officer Wore Extremist Militia Logo To Downtown Protest Saturday (CBS Chicago – David Goldenberg interviewed)
ADL IN THE NEWS
- Why the Extremist Boogaloo Boys Wear Hawaiian Shirts (The Wall Street Journal)
- Facebook Becomes Key Place For Extremist Boogaloo Movement Organizers (NPR’s Weekend Edition – Jonathan Greenblatt interviewed)
- Are ‘outside agitators’ exploiting Floyd protests? (The Christian Science Monitor)