Moving on out...

Growing up Jewish in the metro Detroit area, I was well aware of the stigma the city of Howell had due to it's past affiliations with the KKK. Does the city purchasing a clan robe offered up for auction in it's own city so that it can burn it on the spot or the city hosting the "Hateful Things" traveling Jim Crow exhibit erase these negative stereotypes? Maybe. Because the latest KKK recruitment newsletters have been found in newspaper boxes Northwest of Adrian and Southwest of Ann Arbor. The Ann Arbor News article is here and Adrian's Daily Telegram article is here. I find something so close to home terrifying. I live in Ypsilanti and work in Ann Arbor. And these areas could not be more of a melting pot of people and cultures. That's one reason why I love living and working here. The University draws students and professors from all over the world. People here are open-minded; they are thinkers and philosophers, not intimidated by the rebeliousness of youth or the wisdom of age. Walk downtown and the world is your fingertips in the stores, restaurants, and people walking the streets. To imagine that intolerance is so close... but then again, to those who fear what I embrace, what better place to target? Fear and hatred can spread like wildfire. But I can have hope. Hope that the people who chose to live in the outlying rural areas of Ann Arbor chose to live close for all the reasons I love living here. With that hope, I really have nothing to fear.