Spokane woman returns from march to find hate poster in her yard

Elena Gardner by Elena Gardner

At around 7:30 a.m. this morning, Spokane resident Lena came home to find a hate speech poster in her yard. She had just returned from a trip to Washington D.C. to attend the Women’s March on Washington.

“I was really surprised,” said Lena. “My first thought was just that it was a piece of garbage that had blown into my yard. Then I realized it was this very racist sign.”

The sign, which read, “White Lives Matter More,” contained KKK slogans and other hate speech, and was seemingly in response to a “Black Lives Matter” sign, Lena had posted in her yard.

She called crime check, who took the sign into their possession as evidence of a hate crime.

“It sounds like they’re really going to make sure if something happens again they will find out who did it or where it’s coming from,” she said.

Lena, who has lived in Spokane for almost 2 years now, said there’s never been any issues or hate crimes around her likes this before. “This is a pretty quiet neighborhood. I was really surprised knowing my neighbors and knowing those around me, that this was happening.” She said she it was most likely somebody she didn’t know trying to scare her.

Lena, who is the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, is a strong supporter of social and racial justice. She had just returned from marching in Washington, D.C. for immigrant and refugee rights.

“Just coming back with so much confidence about what’s going to happen as far as social and racial justice goes, and then to see this here in Spokane is really disheartening,” she said.

She called the march in D.C. an amazing experience. “For miles long there were people shoulder to shoulder, packed, and they were all there for the same thing, to stand up against social and racial injustices and human rights.

Lena isn’t going to let this get her down. In fact, it is going to empower her to fight harder for people’s rights. “Racism is alive and well and it’s not going to be tolerated in our community. Nobody should ever feel unsafe because of their race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religion. It’s something that everybody needs to stand up against.”

“I’m not scared by any means,” she said. “I have a really good network of friends in Spokane who have been really supportive.”

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