White activism at Staten Island NY in the news
Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2020 12:19 am
https://www.silive.com/news/2020/02/fly ... llege.html
There's some dedicated activists on Staten Island!Flyers from 2nd purported white-supremacist group found at Wagner College
Today {21 February 2020} 4:12 PM
By Irene Spezzamonte | [email protected]
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Public Safety at Wagner College found several “unauthorized and offensive stickers” from a purported white supremacy group on school grounds on Thursday, according to a school email sent to students and shared with the Advance.
The discovery comes as propaganda from such organizations continues to turn up around Staten Island and across the country.
A total of three stickers were found at different locations on campus and were promptly removed, the email reads.
“Unfortunately, there have been growing reports of white supremacist propaganda being posted around the country and on college campuses in particular,” the email told students. “We do not condone racist and anti-Semitic messages and behavior. We also do not condone messages that promote fear, promote hate, and devalue others.”
A spokesman for Wagner confirmed to the Advance the content of the email.
The spokesman added that the stickers appeared in two versions: One version referenced the Patriot Front group, with the words “To Ourselves and our Posterity” around the organization’s emblem, while the second version had the slogan “reject poison,” with the URL of the Patriot Front.
The Patriot Front is ”a white supremacist group whose members maintain that their ancestors conquered America and bequeathed it solely to them," according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Previously, flyers from the New Jersey European Heritage Association (NJEHA) were found all over Staten Island, including at Wagner College and the College of Staten Island (CSI).
Those flyers, which commonly refer to an unsubstantiated conspiracy that white people are facing extinction, urge viewers to “Reclaim your nation” and “Reclaim your heritage.”
At the end of January, the Advance exclusively reported that the NYPD and the District Attorney Michael E. McMahon started an investigation into NJEHA.
"[The NYPD] is aware of the posters and the purported connection to a specific group that has engaged in hate speech,” a spokeswoman said. “The matter is being investigated.”
Earlier this month, the ADL released a study indicating that white supremacist propaganda distribution more than doubled in 2019 compared to the previous year, making it the highest year on record in the United States.
Patriot Front, American Identity Movement and NJEHA — all groups designated as white supremacist organizations by the ADL — are responsible for approximately 90% of the activity, according to the study.
The newly-released data shows a total of 2,713 cases of literature distribution nationwide, which is about seven times per day, compared to 1,214 reported cases in 2018.
On Staten Island, the ADL said there were 21 instances of white supremacist propaganda in 2019; however, an Advance investigation revealed that NJEHA alone posted at least 50 flyers and stickers across multiple neighborhoods on Staten Island over the past eight months, indicating that the ADL’s data could perhaps under-represent the extent of the issue.
“White supremacists see propaganda distribution – including fliering, leafleting and stickering – as a convenient and practically anonymous way to promote their messages of hate and intolerance,” said ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt. “While we know extremists and hate groups are emboldened by the current environment, this surge in fliering and propaganda distribution powerfully demonstrates how bigots are able to spread their message without compromising their anonymity.”