Melissa Brown, AL, January 14, 2015

For the second time in less than a year, a billboard near Birmingham is carrying a racial message connected to a segregationist screed.

Posted along I-59 near Springville in St. Clair county, the billboard says “Diversity means chasing down the last white person” and includes the hashtag #whitegenocide.

The billboard appears similar to one posted near Leeds in June 2013 which read “Anti-racist is a code word for anti-white.” Though the billboard was within Birmingham city limits, Leeds mayor David Miller denounced that billboard’s “racist message” at the time due to its proximity to the city.

Both phrases are commonly used by the White Genocide Project, a group of white supremacist and separatist online activists. Their website refers to both slogans as “repeater phrases,” words and sentences activists are encouraged to use often.

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This fall, League of the South president Michael Hill claimed responsibility for the Leeds billboard, though he told WBHM 90.3 the sign was privately financed by a League member. AL.com has reached out to Hill for possible comment on the Springville sign.

The League has paid for several “SECEDE” billboards posted throughout the state this year, including one near Montgomery and one near Tuscaloosa.

Lamar Advertising pulled the Montgomery board after they received complaints from advertisers, though they offered Hill credit for money spent.

[Editor’s Note: The billboard has now been taken down.]