City Council also affirms support for classifying the KKK as a domestic terror organization   

City of San LeandroSan Leandro Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter and the San Leandro City Council announced that they have unanimously adopted a resolution condemning white nationalist and white supremacist hate groups and declared their support for classifying under federal law the Ku Klux Klan (“KKK”) as a domestic terrorist organization. As part of their action, the Council also reaffirmed the City’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

“Along with my colleagues on the City Council, we felt it was important for our City to issue a firm statement condemning hateful actions and the ideologies of hate groups,” noted Mayor Cutter. “In light of recent events across the country, it is now more important than ever that we as a society take the time to denounce such groups, while also reaffirming our belief that our community’s broad diversity is something to be proud of and something that provides us with incredible strength.”

Nationally, there has been a rise in activity among race-based hate groups, such as the KKK. Generally speaking, many of these groups and organizations place the interests of their ethnic group over those of other ethnic groups for the stated purpose of maintaining their superiority. Following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, communities all over the world, including San Leandro, saw protests and demonstrations highlighting the unequal treatment that African Americans and other persons of color have endured in the United States. According to publicly available crime data, the United States has also witnessed an increase in racially motivated hate crimes and threats over the past year, including against persons of Asian ethnicity following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response to these trends and events, members of the San Leandro community requested that the City Council take formal action to condemn white supremacy and white supremacist hate groups, and to document that their activities run counter to the City’s core values. A copy of the resolution can be found on the City Council agenda page.

For additional information, please contact Paul Sanftner at psanftner@sanleandro.org.