Racists Flyers Distributed in Downtown Longmont

Police are investigating, seek the public’s help; the county DA has been notified

Several business owners in downtown Longmont arrived to work on Friday morning, September 23 to find a racist flyer left at their doorstep.

Longmont Police and the Longmont Downtown Development Authority were contacted. Longmont Officers recovered 11 flyers.

This is not the first time Longmont has been peppered with racist flyers or stickers. As more Americans learn about anti-blackness and work to create a more just and equitable society, there are those who linger in the past refusing to let go of the violent supremacy the nation was founded on. With disinformation rising and anti-black rhetoric surrounding CRT (Critical Race Theory), there is a portion of America that seems determined to keep America in her racist roots.

Critical race theory is a body of legal scholarship and an academic movement of US civil-rights scholars and activists who seek to critically examine the intersection of race and US law and to challenge mainstream American liberal approaches to racial justice. Wikipedia

https://www.facebook.com/LongmontFirePoliceOEM/

https://www.facebook.com/LongmontDDA

The flyers were photocopied and included a boldface racial slur using asteriks indicating they know the word is wrong, as well as a misspelling/typo.

There was no indication why Allstate and its toll-free number were included in the text. Allstate’s corporate media team was contacted and provided the following statement:

These fliers were not created or posted by Allstate and do not represent the company or its agency owners. Inclusive Diversity and Equity is one of our core values and we take situations like this seriously. To learn more about Allstate’s commitment to Inclusive Diversity and Equity, please visit www.allstate.com/diversity.

There is no sign that this has anything to do with Allstate at a corporate level, nor with any local Allstate insurance offices. All we can guess is that Allstate employs a black man as its spokesperson.

Maker General, a woman-owned business in downtown Longmont with a Black co-owner posted this statement on its Facebook page, along with a piece of artwork from their store supporting Black Lives Matter created by Ladyfingers Letterpress.

https://ladyfingersletterpress.com/

https://ladyfingersletterpress.com/collections/art-prints/products/black-lives-matter-poster-set-of-15

“I came by the shop early this morning to find an appalling leaflet in our door ((I’ll spare you all of that)). I have called the police and reported it to the @LongmontDDA. I am shaking. I am livid. Hateful acts like this are designed to make it hard for retail owners/ workers to continue to bring their best for the public, but we won’t stoop to the cowardly behavior of this messenger. We know you have your community’s back and we have yours. I am not even sure what I want to say except that we need hugs. F*** racism. F*** racist people. Julie” 

After the officers filed a report and the Longmont Police Department began an investigation, the Longmont City Manager’s Office issued the following statement late Friday afternoon:

Police Collect Disparaging Fliers Left on Downtown Store Fronts

City shares a collective commitment to bridge cultural differences

Last night, September 23, 2021, Longmont Officers recovered 11 fliers left on downtown businesses that were disparaging towards our Black community. Officers removed the photocopied fliers from storefronts and filed a police report. Due to the nature of this incident, the Longmont Police Department has notified the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office.

The City of Longmont’s City Manager’s Office and the Longmont Downtown Development Authority released this statement earlier today, “This kind of hateful and racist messaging has no place in our community. We consider the diversity of our community an important asset and what makes the Longmont community so special. We share a collective commitment to building community by engaging and learning to bridge cultural differences that value diversity and inclusion among the Longmont community, not tear them down.”

If you know the individual(s) responsible or have video on Main Street that would disclose who is responsible, we ask that you contact the Longmont Emergency Communications Center at (303)651-8501 and reference report #21-7933.

https://www.longmontcolorado.gov/Home/Components/News/News/11953/3?backlist=%2fdepartments%2fdepartments-a-d%2fcity-manager

https://www.facebook.com/LongmontFirePoliceOEM/posts/10158844230334790