Hate Has No Port Here
Add your name to the “Hate Has No Port Here” Pledge
You are already aware of this difficult season of racial unrest in response to recent tragic events around the country and arising from a history of injustice towards and oppression of brown and black skin people. Unfortunately, as you are almost certainly aware, racist behavior has not spared even our beautiful community. In recent months, racial epithets were yelled at a black teenager for the simple act of offering free munchkins at a downtown street corner. A young woman protesting systemic racism in Market Square had her sign grabbed from her forcefully by an older man, assaulting her while yelling obscenities. A black woman with her daughter were yelled at and called vulgar racist names by an angry man on the rail trail. Most recently, another young woman of color who was protesting in Market Square was verbally accosted and told to get out of town by an angry older man.
Is this the type of impression we want people to have of Newburyport? Is this what we want brown and black skin community members and visitors to fear when they come to Newburyport? Do we want brown and black skin people to decide to stay away from Newburyport instead of running the risk of being insulted and assaulted? The answer to all these questions should be a loud and resounding “NO!”
We believe in a vision of Newburyport that is a welcoming community. We also believe it is critically important that we make a strong statement that hateful and racist speech and actions have no home in Newburyport.
Request a “Hate Has No Port Here” window placard here!