Racist flyers promoting white supremacy found, removed from Philadelphia neighborhood
Experts say more than 100 incidents of white supremacist propaganda in Philadelphia were reported from 2019 to 2022.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Flyers with racist hate speech promoting white supremacy were found in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia this week.
"It's an outrage, it's unacceptable. As soon as we could get down there with a scraper, we got rid of it," said Steve Newman, a longtime resident of Mount Airy. "I went up and down the street a block or so to make sure I didn't miss any."
Newman's wife was the first to spot the blatantly racist flyers scattered up and down a block of Germantown and West Mount Pleasant avenues on Wednesday morning.
The flyers were posted on poles, trash cans, and signs. They were covered in hateful messages promoting white power.
The flyers are similar to those disseminated in the Wyndmoor area back in January.
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State Senator Art Haywood, who has an office in Mount Airy, says this is about more than just spewing hate.
"The flyers are outrageous. All about white supremacy and that kind of recruitment. I consider it recruitment in the district," said Haywood.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, more than 100 incidents of white supremacist propaganda in Philadelphia were reported from 2019 to 2022.
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Statewide, roughly 1,200 incidents were reported within the same time frame.
And it's not the first time it's happened in Haywood's district.
"Here in my Abington part of the district, there were individuals recruiting for the Ku Klux Klan. So on the Montgomery County side, we have seen it before," he said.
Haywood also added that their response to this kind of hate remains the same.
His office is in communication with law enforcement and plans to review area surveillance video to find out who is responsible.
Neighbors like Newman say they won't let these messages affect how they live.
He also hopes those behind the messages never show up again.
"We know this hate is everywhere. So in a way, maybe we shouldn't be surprised that some coward or cowards in the middle of the night would post this in Mount Airy. But it's not acceptable anywhere, including our neighborhood," said Newman.
