BLOOMINGTON, Ill (WMBD) — Bloomington City Council spoke on the discriminatory flyers left around the city last week, and council members and the mayor pledged against hate in the city.
These pledges were made by signing cards, offered by the Not in Our Town organization, which has been combating hate in the city since 1995. This is all in an effort to make Bloomington safe and inclusive for everyone.
“I think part of the quality of life of Bloomington-Normal is the community that welcomes people. Anything that our town can do to help affirm those values and again, make people who may feel threatened know that they have supporters, they have allies that are not going to stand for that kind of rhetoric,” said Mike Matejka, co-chair of Not in Our Town.
Not in Our Town continues to remind the community that hate is not welcome in the Twin Cities, and they will not allow the hateful messages to divide them.
“Any time an incident like this happens, we want to reiterate those values that we’re a community that comes together. We’re a community that doesn’t discriminate against people and we don’t welcome people with hateful messages that try to divide us,” said Matejka.
The flyers left around Bloomington included a call to March on Bloomington, with an American Flag on it, but instead of stars, a swastika in its place. The march is planned to take place this Saturday at Miller Park, marching towards the farmer’s market. The unknown person who placed these flyers is calling themselves “real citizens”.
“Nobody’s claimed that they’ve done it, and we’re not sure if it’s a hoax. You know, it could just have been somebody trolling, trying to create an issue. We really have no idea if there’s anything substantial there. No one has come forward to claim it or to try to build up support for it,” he said.
The flyer also claimed to have the mayor of Bloomington on its side, which was not true. The mayor signed a pledge card last night to combat the claim.
A rally has been scheduled by Not in Our Town for Saturday, to go against the march scheduled for the same day. The rally will take place at noon, in front of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.
The Bloomington Police Department is still investigating the flyers and is working towards figuring out who left them around the city. For more information about Not in Our Town, visit their website.
WMBD TV can be reached at News@WJBC.com.
