White Supremacist Symbol Found Spray-Painted at the Site of Fire, Civil Rights Center Says
Someone painted a white supremacist symbol at the scene where聽fire ravaged a building tied to the civil rights movement, according to a statement from the Highlander Research and Education Center.
The executive offices of the Highlander Center, based in New Market, Tennessee, caught fire early Friday morning, 聽Knox News.
The center serves as 鈥渁n adult education center for community workers involved in social and economic justice movements,鈥� according to language posted to the group鈥檚 Facebook page, and once played host to such civil rights icons as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.
A representative聽from the Jefferson County Sheriff鈥檚 Office told Hatewatch on Monday that they were working with the Tennessee State Fire Marshal鈥檚 Office to determine the cause of the fire. They said they聽hope to share more information in the coming days.
But a statement issued by the center Tuesday added an unpleasant layer of intrigue to the center鈥檚 misfortune 鈥� overtly suggesting that the fire may have been an act of arson.
鈥淎s most of you know, a devastating fire burned down our main office early Friday morning. Thankfully no one was inside the building and no one was injured,鈥� a statement from the center聽. 鈥淲e also found a symbol connected to the white power movement spray-painted on the parking lot connected to the main office.鈥�
鈥淲hile we do not know the names of the culprits, we know that the white power movement has been increasing and consolidating power across the South, across this nation, and globally,鈥� the statement continues.
Hatewatch reached out to the center for more information about the symbol they said was spray-painted at the scene of the blaze but did not immediately receive a response.
The Southern Poverty Law Center鈥檚 own analysis backs up the Highlander Center鈥檚 statement about gains made by the white supremacist movement. 人兽性交聽has found that the number of hate groups in the U.S. has surged聽alongside the rise of President Donald Trump.
Hatewatch found 36 hate groups operating in Tennessee in 2018, including dozens linked to the white supremacist movement. The state has also played home to several high-profile white supremacist rallies, events聽聽in recent years, including a 聽and a series of聽聽on by the neo-Nazi group Traditionalist Worker Party聽throughout 2017 and 2018. American Renaissance, a white nationalist think tank, hosts their yearly conference in Tennessee and this May.
News of the fire coincides with a racist incident on the University of North Carolina鈥檚 Chapel Hill campus Sunday. The Unsung Founders Memorial, which commemorates the lives of slaves and black workers, was聽, according to police.
Arrest warrants have been issued for two suspects linked to the vandalism in Chapel Hill, campus police said.
Photo credit: New Market Fire Department
