Protest sign attacking Antioch Mayor with drawings of hooded Klan members, swastikas being made for Saturday march
Sign making party
Posted by Shagoofa Khan on Friday, September 11, 2020
See 1:26 mark for shot of campaign sign with Klansmen and swastikas. Video from Shagoofa Khan’s Facebook page.
“The hate and the outrageous attacks must stop” – Mayor Sean Wright says – calls on opponent, Councilman Thorpe to denounce his supporter’s actions, Thorpe declines
By Allen Payton
On Saturday, Antioch Mayor Sean Wright’s campaign for re-election issued a press release stating, “Referring to a sign making party Facebook video post in preparation for a protest in Antioch, today Mayor Sean Wright expressed outrage over a sign highlighted in the video which says ‘I’m Sean Wright I approve of this message’ and depicts people in Klan hoods wearing swastikas.
Screenshot of video showing protester Lacey Brown drawing a poster with images of Klansmen and swastikas. Source: Wright for Mayor campaign.
The post was made by Shagoofa Khan, one of the recent hunger strikers at the Antioch Police Facility, and supporter of Wright’s opponent, Antioch Councilman Lamar Thorpe. In the video (see link above), Khan pans to a sign being drawn by protester Lacey Brown which includes three characters Klan hoods and swastikas saying, “Hers is really nice.”
“I support all peaceful protest against all forms of racism, but blasting me with drawings of hooded Klan members and swastikas is absolutely uncalled for,” said Wright, who is in the middle of his campaign for re-election as Antioch Mayor.
“This has gone way too far,” he added.
A section of Thorpe’s campaign flier. Source: Wright for Mayor campaign.
Khan is prominently featured in Thorpe’s campaign brochure entitled “Leadership that Listens” as one of the women leaders supporting his campaign.
Screenshot of Shagoofa Khan video posted on her Facebook page on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020.
Wright called on Thorpe to immediately denounce Khan’s actions. “If my opponent is listening and promoting individuals who condone the use of Klan garb and swastikas, that says a lot about his character.” Wright stated. “I am extremely concerned for the future of Antioch.”
Khan said her sign will read, “Brooks hires crooks,” referring to Antioch Police Chief T Brooks. Another sign that can be seen in the video reads ACAB which is an acronym for all cops are bastards.
When asked about her sign and if the characters are Klansmen wearing white hoods, Brown admitted, “That’s what those are.” Asked why and if she really thinks Wright is a Klansman or White Supremacist she responded, “I think he knew exactly what he was doing with that email and who he was targeting. (She was referring to a previous email sent out Wednesday by Wright’s campaign about the protest at his chiropractic offices on Tuesday night. See related article) You do realize that was not only a political call to action but also a call to action for violence that he could blame on his mayoral opponent with plausible deniability? I don’t have reason to believe Sean is in the KKK himself, but he certainly condones white supremacy to run rampant in his town and harnesses their fears to benefit politically. You and I may disagree on that, but he is an enabler and even a catalyst to racism in this City.”
When reached for comment Thorpe refused to denounce Khan’s comments or the message on Brown’s poster.
Protest graphic from Facebook promo.
He responded, “These things have nothing to do with me or my campaign. What I am happy to see is that my opponent finally has a point of view. He hasn’t had a point of view on homelessness, he hasn’t had a point of view on growing jobs, and he hasn’t had a point of view on police reform. It’s not that I’m running against him, it’s he hasn’t come to work in four years.”
Wright was given the opportunity to respond but chose not to before publication time. Please check back later for any response or update to this report.
Today’s protest march entitled, “White Supremacy Out of Antioch” is supported by a coalition of mainly out of town organizations including Richmond-based Together We Stand (see their website http://www.twsrevolution.org/), East Bay Resistance based in southern Alameda County (see their Facebook page) which, according to their webpage, supports both defunding and abolishing the police, Empact based in the Sacramento area, Bay Area Grassroots, whose founder and executive director is Antioch resident Michael James,
Protest promo on the Together We Stand Facebook page.
also one of the six former hunger strikers, and Brown’s Antioch-based group Justice Advocates & Resources of East County of which Khan is a member. She is not part of Together We Stand as was stated in Wright’s campaign press release.
On the Together We Stand Facebook page announcing today’s protest it reads, “Antioch has a long history of racism and white supremacy. With a long history of racist incidents, the Antioch PD’s hiring of Michael Mallone (sic) a former SFPD cop who quit while facing disciplinary action after the shooting death of Luis-Gongora Pat, and the recent decision by the school board to put cops in schools for the first time, it is CLEAR that now more than ever we need to take a stand! Join us as we work with local organizers from Justice Advocacy and Resources of east county and local residents who need our help to affect change in this community.”
The protest is scheduled to begin at 4 PM at City Park in Antioch at the corner of A and W. 10th Streets with a march to the Antioch Police Facility at 300 L Street to meet up with the protesters who were on a hunger strike but are claiming to occupy the area until their demands are met that Officer Mellone be fired, Corporal Steve Aiello, president of the Antioch Police Officers Association step down from his position for a controversial comment on Facebook, and that the mayor hold another community forum on police reform and race relations. (See related article)
the attachments to this post:
Together We Stand protest FB post 09-12-20
Antioch protest promo 09-12-20
Shagoofa Sign making party video 09-11-20
Thorpe flier Antioch’s women leaders
Protesters making signs
