SMITHFIELD – At the first of many planned community conversations about racism and prejudice in Smithfield last week, parents said the town and its schools have an ongoing pattern of sweeping racist incidents under the rug, often allowing abuse to go unpunished.
More than 120 residents connected to the virtual meeting, discussing racist incidents. Last Wednesday’s forum stemmed from resident Kim Ziegelmayer’s discovery of racist graffiti on concrete pilings under Route 116 on the Scenic Stillwater Trail in January. Three Smithfield youths were subsequently arrested related to that graffiti and referred to the Juvenile Hearing Board.
Ziegelmayer has since founded the Smithfield Anti-Hate Coalition on Facebook, inviting residents to respectfully but firmly keep pressure on town leaders to respond to this incident but also to work to combat racism and all types of hate and intolerance in town.
SMITHFIELD – Responding to racist and hateful graffiti found under the Route 116 overpass on the Scenic Stillwater Trails, Smithfield is hosting a virtual public forum to create a dialogue and positive change in the community.
On Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 6 p.m., the public is invited to attend a virtual forum, titled “Race and Equality in Smithfield.”
The forum will be moderated by the Rhode Island Commission on Prejudice and Bias and will provide the opportunity for the Smithfield community to speak freely and respectfully about the incident and related issues, said Town Council President Suzy Alba.
Leaders of the YMCA of Greater Providence, YMCA Rhode Island and the Anti-Defamation League of New England will attend as well to offer expertise and insight on how those affected, and the town, can move forward.
Racist graffiti hits close to home for Smithfield family
Three generations of the Porter family trace the townâs steps forward and backward on race
By Edward Fitzpatrick Globe Staff,Updated February 5, 2021, 6:00 a.m.
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Kim Ziegelmayer, her son Ray Porter, and her former husband Kevin Porter stand next to the pillars of the bridge along the Stillwater Scenic Trail in Smithfield, R.I., where Ziegelmayer found racist graffiti, which has since been painted over.Lane Turner/Globe Staff
SMITHFIELD, R.I. â Hattie Mae Burroughs-Porter remembers the day, back in the 1940s, when she passed by two women while walking to school in Greensboro, Alabama. By the time she arrived home, someone had told her older sister that the young Black girl had refused to step off the sidewalk for the two white ladies.
1/20/2021
UPDATE: Three arrested for racist graffiti in Smithfield
Under the Route 116 overpass on the Stillwater Scenic Trail, gray paint covers up racist and anti-tolerant graffiti discovered on the piling last week.
UPDATE – Police arrest three
SMITHFIELD – Police have arrested three juveniles in connection to racist graffiti on the Stillwater Scenic Trail. The youths were charged with malicious damage and conspiracy, according to Smithfield Police Chief Richard St. Sauveur. He said they will be referred to the Juvenile Hearing Board.
SMITHFIELD – A Martin Luther King, Jr. quote, “hatred cannot drive out hate; only love can do that,” echoed through the airwaves over local radio Monday morning as Town Manager Randy Rossi observed the paint covering the racist and anti-tolerant hate speech graffiti that appeared on the support columns of the Route 116 overpass last week.