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Group: White supremacist stickers found on cars at event for Black and brown-owned vendors in Haverhill

“We will not be deterred or surrender to such intimidation.”

July 2, 2021

1 minute to read

Stickers depicting imagery belonging to a white nationalist hate group were found on cars at an outdoor market supporting Black and brown-owned businesses in Haverhill, according to the event’s organizers.

Merrimack Valley Black & Brown Voices Inc., which was founded last year after the murder of George Floyd, said in a statement that the stickers, linked to the white supremacist group Patriot Front, were found on Sunday and the police were notified. The nonprofit alleges three armed men were seen putting the stickers on cars while the event was taking place.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Patriot Front was formed in 2017 in the aftermath of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“We conclude that the actions of this group were intended to intimidate our vendors, attendees, and volunteers,” Merrimack Valley Black & Brown Voices Inc. said in a statement. “They hope to sow fear and to dissuade our communities from coming together.”

The mission of Merrimack Valley Black and Brown Voices is to provide safe spaces for “Black, Indigenous, and People of Color” to “connect, share resources, and create systemic change to eliminate prejudice and discrimination in surrounding communities.”

Organizer Elizabeth Walther-Grant told CBS Boston she believes the nonprofit’s event was targeted.

“This is the first time that I really really felt scared for my own safety and for the safety of our vendors,” she said. “The police are involved.”

Haverhill police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

The nonprofit announced it is postponing its second planned market, originally set to take place on July 25 in North Andover, until “further precautions are taken.”

“These are our loved ones and we will not stand with cities and towns who do nothing about dangerous behavior like this amongst us,” organizers said in a statement. “We will not be deterred or surrender to such intimidation. We assure our community that we will take all the possible steps to enhance our safety, and ask for allies to volunteer to assist us in this effort.”

https://www.facebook.com/mvbbvoices/posts/327484079000564