The Soapbox: Does hate have a home in NH?
Significantly less inspiring was the distinct absence of New Hampshire’s white leaders. Assistant Attorney General Sean Locke sent a letter that was read by Mr. James McKim that had the generic condolences and platitudes of “hate having no home here” and one white faith leader was called to speak an
O P I N I O N
THE SOAPBOX
Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.
On Sunday, December 3 at 1 p.m., a demonstration in support of Mamadou Dembele, the victim of a hate crime in Portsmouth on 22 Nov., was held at the African Burial Ground Monument. It was a rainy day with several dozen supporters turning up to listen to the words of leadership address the attack on a fellow member of the community. They had inspirational messages of persistence, community, and support. They expressed their love of New Hampshire and its people and shared their pain of constantly being on guard for incidents like Mr. Dembele’s horrible attack.
Significantly less inspiring was the distinct absence of New Hampshire’s white leaders. Assistant Attorney General Sean Locke sent a letter that was read by Mr. James McKim that had the generic condolences and platitudes of “hate having no home here” and one white faith leader was called to speak and hit the nail on the head.
White people shy away and stand in the back of the room when these all-too-common events transpire. New Hampshire is 92% white per the latest census. Almost all our state leaders and law enforcement officers are white. Yet no law enforcement or state leaders were present to show the community that hate indeed has no home in New Hampshire.
With the global rise of white supremacy and the increase in activity of neo-Nazi groups that attacked residents in Concord in June of this year, and the rumors that a former police officer was the one who conducted the attack on Mr. Dembele, I’d like to think that our leaders would want to get on top of a high visibility incident like this one and prove to the public that this will not be tolerated. As MLK Jr. once said, “…We will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Perception is reality and the perception indeed is hate has a home in New Hampshire. Prove to your residents otherwise.
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About the author: Curtis Register lives in Durham. He is a Marine Corps veteran who is very interested in hiking and voting rights.