South Philadelphia man says racist flyer will not intimidate him
SOUTH PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Police are investigating the appearance of anti-black hate speech showing up in a section of South Philadelphia.
Forty-year-old Malik Upshur of Graduate Hospital stood with city leaders Thursday to denounce the propaganda he says came to his block at 16th and Kater streets where he lives with his grandmother.
Upshur says he received a flyer promoting the Ku Klux Klan on the windshield of his car Tuesday night.
"It's just something I never thought I'd experience. My grandmother has been living here 94 years," said Upshur.
But Upshur says this will not deter to him in continuing to call his neighborhood home.
"I'm not intimidated. We're here to stay," Upshur said.
City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson gathered leaders from the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations and the NAACP after Upshur contacted his office.
"He is the only African-American on the block and it just so happens this card winds up on his windshield. I call that more than a coincidence," said Johnson.
"I'm sorry what this young man had to go through. In the 21st century, in a city like Philadelphia, called the City of Brotherly Love," Philadelphia NAACP President Rodney Muhammad said.
Authorities are urging residents to report anything they see. Even though leaving cards or leaflets is not illegal, they are on the lookout for disturbing trends or patterns.
"We have had groups like this recruiting and intimidating people throughout the city. We see it more often in the Northeast and Roxborough, and an incident in the Northwest," said Executive Director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations Rue Landau.
Police said Upsure filed a formal report Thursday evening and they are beginning to look through surveillance video in the area.
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