Photo courtesy of Deja Pope / Facebook
A sticker for Vanguard America, a known white nationalist and neo-Nazi group, was found attached to a Black History Month event poster on the MTSU campus Friday.
The sticker, which depicted a mother and child and read, “Protect White Families,” was removed by Deja Pope, an MTSU senior. Pope posted a picture of the sticker in a MTSU Facebook group and stated that she believes the people who placed the sticker to be “cowards,” and that she believes the sticker was posted overnight.
According to the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that actively tracks hate groups and works to combat bigotry, Vanguard America believes that America is exclusively a white nation and opposes multiculturalism. The ADL website also specifies that Vanguard America spreads propaganda by distributing stickers and fliers, and that many of the hate group’s outreach efforts include the recruitment of college students. It is currently unknown as to whether a MTSU student placed the sticker on the poster.
This is not the first time, however, that a white nationalist group has posted fliers or stickers throughout campus. In early October 2017, fliers for “Identity Evropa,” another categorized hate group, were found in different areas of campus. At the time of the postings, MTSU President Sidney McPhee released a statement, in which he said, “I am proud that our community celebrates and supports the differences among us, as we also seek to build upon our commonalities. There is no place here for hateful rhetoric that diminishes any member of the MTSU family.”
The Identity Evropa fliers were posted a few months after the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro was vandalized, and the placement of the Vanguard America sticker came three months after white nationalist groups had planned a “White Lives Matter” rally in Murfreesboro.
There is currently no additional information as to who posted the sticker and when exactly it occurred.
To contact News Editor Andrew Wigdor, email newseditor@mtsusidelines.com.
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