Some US cities are becoming less safe these days, especially Baltimore, Maryland. Apart from worrying about ICE invasions, locals now also have to contend with the growing number of Nazis and Klan members gradually “coming out of the closet.” What’s even worse is that these closet racists appear to be spreading propaganda and recruitment material in public schools all over Maryland.
Earlier in the week, during Halloween, residents across South Baltimore were also expressing outrage after photos of Nazi-costumed bar patrons— supposedly for the occasion– surfaced online this week. These incidents, many say, expose a troubling undercurrent of racism in the city’s communities and schools. Now, it appears those Halloween costumes might have been serious as KKK flyers are being propagated all over the city:
The first round of flyers appeared near Cross Street Market in Federal Hill, bearing KKK insignia and warning locals to “protect” themselves from so-called “juvenile thugs,” a phrase residents believe targeted Black students at nearby Digital Harbor High School. Similar flyers were later found in Cherry Hill, including one reported by a student to staff, sparking a police investigation.
Thankfully, Baltimore City Public Schools condemned the materials, urging families to report any hate-related incidents. “We have no tolerance for hate and harassment on our campuses or in our neighborhoods,” officials said. Councilwoman Phylicia Porter, who represents Cherry Hill, called the resurgence of white supremacist propaganda “disgusting and unacceptable,” recalling a similar flyer she saw in May declaring that “Black people are not welcome here,” transcript courtesy of The Banner.
Baltimore locals are not having it, some of them, at least
Community groups, including the Federal Hill Neighborhood Association, have called on residents to share security footage and hold businesses accountable. “No student should face this hatred, and no neighborhood should tolerate it,” the group said in a statement. At the moment, Baltimore police say they are reviewing reports tied to both incidents, calling them part of a “deeply concerning pattern” of hate activity in Baltimore.
Meanwhile, those who have lived in the city and its surrounding areas in Maryland swear that Baltimore has always had this kind of dark underbelly. “Why is this surprising? – Baltimore is littered with closet racists. No one is willing to stand on their bigoted ways outside of littering streets with paraphernalia 🤣🤣,” claims an Instagram user, supposedly from Baltimore.
Others are more militant, especially since KKK and Nazi activities appear to have heightened in the past few weeks or even at the start of the year. “We cannot let people like this feel comfortable. Stand up and say no to bigotry in our city,” urges a concerned Baltimorean on Instagram. So far, it appears that apart from the two Nazi-costume bar-goers back in Halloween, the other Nazi and KKK members or sympathizers haven’t fully surfaced yet, or the police simply haven’t caught them.
