Arzate, a Hispanic woman, got out of her car, pulled the poster off the pole, crumbled it up into a ball, and threw it inside her car.
She continued driving and found another sign at the nearby Walgreens at 80th and 39th Avenues. She called the Kenosha Police Department, made a police report, and handed them the first sign she took down. Unfortunately for Arzate, this wouldn’t be the last poster she’d see.
“I was shocked, I was angry, I was naming everything in the dictionary,” Arzate said.
‘Anti-immigrant’ posters show up in Kenosha
Forward Latino, a local nonprofit community advocate group, described the signs as anti-immigrant-focused. They are asking for the community’s help in finding these signs and alerting law enforcement.
Forward Latino held a press conference in Kenosha Wednesday afternoon, decrying the racist posters as unacceptable.
“Let me be clear, this is unacceptable. It is wrong. It is un-American,” Forward Latino President Darryl Morin said. “Regardless of whom these posters are intended to target, they promote intimidation, division and violence. Our community and our nation must reject messages that dehumanize people or encourage harm. We cannot allow fear and hatred to become normalized.”
Around 10 posters have been found in Kenosha so far, Morin said.
According to Morin, Forward Latino has monitored and documented a dramatic increase in incidents of hate and bias across the United States.
“Approximately 97% of hate crime victims assisted by Forward Latino are United States citizens who happen to have prominent Hispanic features or speak Spanish or speak with an accent,” Morin said. “No one stops to ask about immigration status before committing an act of hate. These incidents are not about immigration. They are about prejudice. They are about hate.”
Morin said Forward Latino is working with law enforcement and has been in contact with the FBI.
According to its website, Forward Latino currently has members in 29 states across the country. It is based in Wisconsin.
Forward Latino staff is asking people to report hateful messages seen at www.forwardlatino.org/hate-crime or call 833LAT-IN01.
