LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX18) — People in Lexington's Kenwick neighborhood were surprised to see and hear that hateful flyers were circulating in their neighborhood. People found white supremacist flyers on their property or were warned about them on the community's social media pages.
One resident, Kremena Todorova, says, "It seems to me that someone was challenging the community; it also feels invasive."
Many people were surprised Kenwick was targeted because of how liberal they say the community is. Another resident, Lauren Higdon, says it's important to talk about.
"I know I found, and even research and history shows us that if we keep those things quiet and allow them to grow, it's going to get more power," says Higdon.
Analysts with the Southern Poverty Law Center say that communities reporting incidents like this one further their research and tracking.
The SPLC has data tracking hate and anti-government groups across the US, dating back to 2000. Since then, Kentucky's hate groups peaked at 23 in 2016, then began to fall. A senior analyst who preferred to stay anonymous says, "The catch-22 again is, we need to be aware, we need to be vigilant, but at the same time, we can't give them too much oxygen..."
Lexington-Fayette County's NAACP Vice President, Matthew Williams, says this is an issue that must be addressed head-on. He says, "We got to go through it. We have to face things. We have to face the truth of our history, the truth of the foundation of this country -- which is built upon white body supremacy and racialized capitalism, and poverty. We gotta face it."
Kentucky's Jewish Council also released a message condemning the flyers. Rabbi Shlomo Litvin says he believes the community needs to stand against acts like this together.
"It is every single one of us who have the responsibility and platform to stand up and say, 'I don't stand with this. This doesn't represent me.' Whether that's on your Facebook page, whether that's on whatever social media you have, in regular conversation with other people, 'these flyers were in our neighborhood and it's disgusting'," says Rabbi Litvin.
This community says they hope this sparks a conversation about changes people don't want to see in the world.
Todoroda says, "Yea, I hope that when people get flyers like that they will be vocal about what that means to them and that these are messages of hate that are absolutely shameful and disgusting and have no place in our lives -- not just here in Kenwick but in Lexington and frankly anywhere in this country."
These residents and leaders want to see this community continue to grow together.
