Lorie Turner’s husband discovered a Ku Klux Klan flyer on a door as he departed for work on Monday morning.
They don’t know if they were singled out for being an interracial couple in Akron.
“I was mad, I was scared, all in one,” said Turner, who is white. “I didn’t know what to think at that moment – are we being targeted? It’s sickening.”
The flyer, found near the intersection of Romig Road and Fawler Avenue, states a graphic message — “Arm yourselves WHITE people!!” It includes contact information for a Kentucky-based KKK chapter, according to Mayor Shammas Malik’s office.
Signal Akron confirmed with the Akron Police Department that it was the same literature that was found in March in Chillicothe. Copies were also discovered this week in Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood. Flyers from the Maysville-based group have also been discovered at homes throughout Kentucky, spreading to East Nashville, Tennessee, Columbia, Tennessee, Carmel, Indiana, and, as of this week, Columbus.
The flyer found in Akron includes three racist caricatures of Black people.
On Wednesday afternoon, Malik and Acting Police Chief Brian Harding released a joint statement, denouncing the flyer:
“We want to be extremely clear: Racism and hate have no place in our community, and we find the flyer to be disgusting and offensive. We’re aware that these flyers have been placed in other Northeast Ohio communities and we are talking with other cities to gather further information. We encourage anyone with knowledge of these flyers or who has received one themselves to please contact the police department. This vile flyer does not represent the diverse and welcoming city that we call home, and we stand firmly against those who would deliver this type of material to our residents.”