The Highland Park water tower, a Detroit landmark, has been desecrated with hateful graffiti, drawing widespread condemnation. The messages, linked to the white supremacist group Patriot Front, include the group's website and slogans such as "America First."
Mayor Glenda McDonald expressed the city's outrage, telling FOX 2 Detroit, "Being persecuted already as a Black person is hard enough, but to do it on property that belongs to a Black community in a racist way - it baffles me." The graffitied phrases were plastered, over an original message of "Free Free Palestine," adding visual insult to the injury of the water tower's defacement. The mayor declared that hate and racism are not tolerated in the predominantly African-American city.
The disturbing vandalism includes references to "Patriot Front.US," recognized by the Anti-Defamation League as a white supremacist group aiming to create a nation privileging "the descendants of its creators," namely white men. Some residents, while disturbed, see the act as an attempt to incite controversy. Brendon Morgan, a resident, said in an interview with WXYZ, “It is what it is. It’s always been people like that.”
A response is being mobilized by the city authorities, including a proposed installation of surveillance cameras around the tower and increased police patrols. McDonald stated that the Highland Park Police Department would prosecute those responsible. "We have laws that prohibit you from destroying city property," McDonald asserted in a statement obtained by FOX 2 Detroit. "Even if it weren’t a law to me personally, this cannot happen. We will not allow it to happen and we will prosecute anyone who is caught doing this."
State Rep. Mike McFall echoed the city's sentiments, condemning the graffiti in strong terms. "I am appalled and disgusted by the racist vandalism on Highland Park’s water tower," McFall told Metro Times. "We have a responsibility to ensure this hateful rhetoric has no home in Michigan. Our state is committed to inclusivity and diversity, and these hateful messages do not speak for what our state represents."
The community is fostering a message of resilience and unity in the face of such divisive actions. In a demonstration of solidarity, Highland Park officials, leaders, and citizens alike are vocalizing their commitment to inclusiveness and the profound rejection of the racism and bigotry represented by these illegal acts.
