Manchester residents begin “One Human Family” sign campaign in response to swastika in Village
Stack of signs at Manchester distribution location. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Blackwell.
On the dark evening of Dec. 22nd, Manchester residents noticed out on the river what appeared to be a large swastika made by someone dragging their feet in the snow on top of the ice. Because of fluctuating temperatures there was no safe way of going out onto the ice to disrupt the symbol.
Village resident Jason Heinrich brought it to the attention of other community members via social media. He stated, “I noticed it in the snow on my walk down to the Dandy Lion to visit a friend. I was instantly disgusted, hurt, and disappointed by the symbol of hate. I knew the ice was thin so I was nervous about walking on it or I would have removed it myself. I was nervous about somebody else trying to walk on it to remove it so I posted on the Manchester, MI Facebook page.”
Manchester Fire Chief Mike Reisterer reported that multiple calls were made to the Washtenaw County Sheriff Department the next morning. A sheriff’s Deputy parked his cruiser on the bridge to prevent anyone from going out on the ice to remove the swastika. Reisterer, in consultation with Sergeant Cook of the Sheriff's Department, decided in the interest of public safety to have the Fire Department remove it to prevent anyone from going out onto the ice to remove it themselves.
It was removed by the Fire Department around noon. Village President Pat Valliencort stated that she is "appalled" that this was done in our community. Manchester resident Amy Pierce Pyle stated, “The Manchester community I have come to know and love is inclusive, not exclusive. The type of bigotry and hate represented in a swastika should never be acceptable. I was glad to see our town coming together to get it removed quickly.”
Heinrich found the vast majority of responses were from other Manchester residents mirrored his own and those above, but found the feeling wasn’t universal, “Although many agreed that the symbol should be removed there were actually some who felt it was an unnecessary thing to remove,” he stated, “That’s when I realized we have a serious problem.”
Sandra Wiitala echoes his sentiment, "Having lived in Manchester the last 28 plus years, in the school system since I was twelve, held just about every counter job in town, growing up and living and working with people from here and now raising my kids here and interacting with all those families I have met through them, I can tell you I really do not believe that incident represents my town at all. I have never gotten that vibe from Manchester and I was relieved when it got taken care of. Leaving it would have said a lot more about us than the fact that someone did it in the first place."
One response to the incident so far has been the organizing of a yard sign campaign. Jennifer Fairfield of Bridgewater Township was aware of a hate incident in Chelsea earlier in December and in response, many Chelsea residents put up “One Human Family” signs in their yards.
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Fairfield.
Fairfield explained, "When I heard about what happened, I was sad and upset. But I was also confused ... because that isn’t the Manchester I know. The Manchester I know is caring, thoughtful, kind, and inclusive. It just didn’t make sense to me that someone would feel the need to do something like that. Here. In Manchester. So, when some of us were talking about how to respond to it, I thought the response should be something visible, to show everyone how the people of Manchester really feel, and the “One Human Family” campaign and signs seemed to be the perfect thing."
Fairfield contacted the Interfaith Council on Peace and Justice in Ann Arbor, the organization which created the signs, and arranged to set up a distribution hub for the signs in the village with resident Jennifer Blackwell. Blackwell stated, “I was encouraged by the folks being called to action to do good after the swastika was spotted on our river, in our town. Because we've had a One Human Family sign in our yard for many months, I was more than happy to be the local pickup location in Manchester.”
She reports that as of three days ago she has the signs in and anyone who would like to put one up in their yard just needs to contact her to set up a pick-up time or a time for her to drop it off at their house either by phone at 734-646-3686 or email at jenblackwell2@gmail.com. The Interfaith Council asks, if possible, for a donation of $5 or $10 for each sign, which can be given to Blackwell, mailed to them at Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice, 1414 Hill St., Ann Arbor, MI, 48104 or donated online at www.1humanfamily.org. Signs can also be picked up in Chelsea at Global Marketplace located at 115 West Middle Street or at the Interfaith Council on Hill St. in Ann Arbor.
“When we put people first and value all lives equally, we can all benefit. It does us all great harm when one group tries to intimidate another with fear and hate,” stated Blackwell.
Fairfield continued, “The Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice and Interfaith Round Table of Washtenaw County states that they have launched the One Human Family campaign to 'mobilize religious and community voices to say NO to hate and fear-mongering and YES to inclusion and welcoming.' That’s exactly what we wanted to say by putting up the signs in response to the incident on the river – that Manchester says No to hate and Yes to welcoming. It would give me great joy to see the whole village and surrounding townships plastered with the signs!”
Fire Department removing swastika on the river on Dec. 23, 2016. Photo courtesy of Ivy Herron
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Blackwell
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