T-Shirt Warns Newcomers: “Leave it just as you found it”
By Dan Murphy
Two recent incidents in Westchester have sparked the debate over the Black Lives Matter movement into unchartered territory. A BLM banner in Chappaqua was vandalized and burned, while a t-shirt in Dobbs Ferry warning newcomers to leave the village just as you found it, has some residents claiming that it was racist in tone.
In Chappaqua members of the Quaker Church put up a BLM banner which was created by one of their members this summer. On three occasions the banner was vandalized; two times the word Black was painted over the banner, and on the third occasion the banner was set on fire.
The Quakers have been in Chappaqua since 1750, where they built the meeting house that still stands today and where the banner was raised outside. The Quakers in America has always been strong abolitionists, and now, 270 years later, the group still supports peach, and social justice for all.
New Castle Town Supervisor Ivy Poole stated, “We are investigating this as a hate crime. We have reached out to the New York State Hate Crimes Task Force to request assistance in our investigation. NCPD is reviewing video footage recovered from nearby cameras. The artwork was created by a 13-year-old boy.
Poole addressed the vandals too: “To the cowards doing this, I say this: However many times you deface and destroy, we will continue to replace, to build it back bigger, better, and more. We will double and triple down in support of our black community members, and all of our BIPOC community members. As a community, and as a Town, we are resolved: BLACK LIVES MATTER.”
“I am aware that there are some who would like me to stop talking about Black Lives Matter. Please know that I fully support our police and I believe that all lives matter. But at this moment in history, when another young black man, Jacob Blake, is fighting for his life after being shot in the back 7 times by a white police officer in Kenosha, WI, and when BIPOC members of our own community have become the victims of hate crimes, I cannot and will not stay silent. “
The members of the Chappaqua meeting published an open letter to the community on the Examiner. “As members of a spiritual community with a long history of peaceful activism and non-violence, deriving from our belief in the inner light in each individual, we as ‘Quakers’ have adopted goals for ourselves this year centered on this movement,” they said in the letter.
In another questionable incident, a t-shirt, which says “Welcome to Dobbs Ferry” on the front and a long message about ‘coming here from there’ was left at the homes of three black families in Dobbs Ferry, who had just moved to the village, on their doors and driveways.
The t-shirts, which were anonymously left, and have most residents embarrased, had on the back of the shirt, “You came here from there because you didn’t like there, and now you want to change here to be like there. We are not racist, phobic, or anti whatever-you-are, we simply like here the way it is and many of us were actually born here and stayed because it is not like there, wherever there was. You are welcome here with open arms! But please stop trying to make here like there. If you want here to be like there, you should not have left there to come here. Please love Dobbs Ferry as we do and please do your best to leave it just as you found it.”
Dobbs Ferry police are investigating the incidents but there have not been any complaints filed by the homeowners. Dobbs Ferry Mayor Vincent Rossillo stated, “Although the intent of the message on the tee shirt is unclear, it has offended people and created tension and divisiveness in our community,” he wrote in a village newsletter. “While there is clearly work to be done, please be assured that the Village is committed to make Dobbs Ferry a safe and inclusive community. I have also brought this to the attention of our Chief of Police and instructed them to investigate the issue further. We should never tolerate language that diminishes or disrespects any member of our community. The Village is undergoing a natural transformation both physically and culturally. These changes can be difficult for some to accept; however, I believe they will ultimately make us stronger and better prepared to address the future.”
Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner wrote, “In recent weeks, some residents have reported growing racial tensions which I think is sad. Residents of Dobbs Ferry are struggling bitterly over “language on a tee shirt. There is less and less appreciation for the feelings of those around us and little care about how one’s actions affect others. We live in a society where our Constitution allows us “Freedom of Speech,” however this freedom to express one’s opinion may come at the cost of hurting those around you. These people live in your community, share homes on your block and share playtime with your children. I believe the only option we have left as a community is to create an environment where every person takes responsibility for their actions and statements. Do we care enough about our neighbors to think about how our words will be perceived and accepted?” stated Feiner.
Finally, members of the local media are also being questioned for their actions. The Examiner, a weekly newspaper in Westchester published by Adam Stone, printed a letter to the editor from Pleasantville resident Richard Vastola which read, “I just read, with some degree of amusement and a sense of irony, last week’s front-page article about the burning of the Quaker Meeting House BLM banner in Chappaqua. Not, of course, regarding the vandalism, which I deplore, but relating to the violent end of a violent banner.
“Perhaps I am old-fashioned, but I thought the symbol of racial harmony was two hands clasping, not a Black fist threatening violence. All that is missing from that banner is the white face to which the fist will presumably be applied. Or perhaps, to avoid any ambiguity, this quote from Hawk Newsome, BLM chapter head, “If this country doesn’t give us what we want, then we will burn (it) down…”
“I was also amused to read of the Council on Race and Equity members’ “outrage” at the vandalism. Are they also outraged at the destruction of statues of Columbus and Jefferson, at the obscene graffiti that blankets the New York Public Library (the Library!) or all the burning and looting (or rather reparations, according to the BLM leadership in Chicago)?
“BLM is not an agent of racial harmony, but rather a toxic brew of violence, extortion and revenge. I will grant that some of the wrongs for which they seek retribution are real, but others are self-inflicted, imaginary or ancient history. No sane person, white or Black, should support them,” wrote Vastola.
Several members of the Pleasantville community questioned Stone and the Examiner for printing Vastola’s letter. “As a lifelong Pleasantville resident and a reader of The Examiner, I was horrified to read a racist letter to the editor published on Aug. 18.
“The author referred to their “amusement” at the burning of a Black Lives Matter banner on Quaker Road in Chappaqua. There is nothing remotely amusing about torching a message that expresses the inherent value of our Black neighbors and community members. Fire has long been a symbol and tool of white supremacist agendas. Overseas, Nazis wielded torches, burning buildings and symbols of Jewish life. Closer to home, this fire evokes the torches, fire bombs and lynchings of the KKK.
“The wheels are in motion. In Westchester’s small, predominantly white communities, it’s our job to make sure our Black neighbors are safe, valued and welcome. Under no circumstances can we condone the hate-filled burning of a 12-year-old’s expression of solidarity and care. Under no circumstances should The Examiner publish an ill-informed, racist justification of white violence,” wrote Charlotte Hill, Pleasantville.
Another letter titled, Examiner Exercised Poor Judgment in Printing Letter With Hateful Ideas states, “I am writing to express my disappointment in the recent letter to the editor from Richard Vastola, which was published by The Examiner regarding the Black Lives Matter movement. This letter exhibited extreme fragility and insensitivity, and undermines the progress Pleasantville It is my view that The Examiner plays a vital role in the spread of ideas within our community and should hold itself to a higher standard – one that does not include fragile and hateful ideas,” wrote, Owen McAndrew, Pleasantville.
