By Bill Baker, J.D.
Editor and Publisher, The San Bruno Beacon
Let me start by saying that racism in any form is not acceptable and it is illegal. Racism is not made acceptable or legal by denying that racist activity is not racist activity. Racism is not made acceptable by attempting to disguise a racist organization as anything else than what it is. Racism is not a joke and it is not a dirty little secret; it is morally reprehensible and, once again, illegal.
Any governmental entity, at any level, that condones, tolerates, or actively participates in racism is engaging in morally reprehensible and, once again, illegal activity. For any governmental entity, there should not even be the hint of impropriety when it comes to racism.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was founded in 1971 as a small civil rights law firm. Over the years, it has grown into an internationally recognized organization that, in the words of the SPLC site:
".....fights all forms of discrimination and works to protect society's most vulnerable members".
One branch of the SPLC is the SPLC Intelligence Project (SPLCIP). The SPLCIP:
The SPLCIP has identified 125 Active White Nationalist U.S. Hate Groups. 5 of these groups are located in California. One of these groups that has been identified by the SPLCIP, the European American Issues Forum, is, according to the SPLCIP web site, located in San Bruno.
Here's what the SPLC says about these groups it has identified as White Nationalist hate groups:
"White nationalist groups espouse white supremacist or white separatist ideologies, often focusing on the alleged inferiority of nonwhites. Groups listed in a variety of other categories - Ku Klux Klan, neo-Confederate, neo-Nazi, racist skinhead, and Christian Identity - could also be fairly described as white nationalist. The groups .... range from those that use racial slurs and issue calls for violence to others that present themselves as serious, non-violent organizations and employ the language of academia. For many years, the largest white nationalist group in America has been the Council of Conservative Citizens, a reincarnation of the old White Citizens Councils that were formed to resist desegregation in the 1950s and 1960s."
There are approximately 30,000 cities in the United States. What is it about the City of San Bruno that makes it one of the very few cities (125/30000 or .00416%) in the United States to be specifically identified, by the SPLCIP, as the home of what the SPLCIP identifies as an active white nationalist U.S. Hate Group?
Does anybody in San Bruno's City Government care about having San Bruno identified by the SPLCIP as the home of a White Nationalist hate group? Has San Bruno's City Council, City Manager or anybody in San Bruno's Police Department talked with the SPLC about this disturbing information?
If the European American Issues Forum believes that the SPLC's characterization of their organization is incorrect, they should clarify this matter with the SPLC.
The bottom line is that the SPLC has identified the City of San Bruno as the home of an organization that the SPLC has identified as a White Nationalist hate group.
San Bruno's City Government needs to start a dialogue with its residents about racism in our community. Because San Bruno has been identified by the SPLC as the home of an active White Nationalist U.S. hate group, our City Government needs to have a heightened awareness of racist activity in San Bruno and engage in proactive efforts to prevent the growth of racism in our community.
Racism, in any disguise, is something that we cannot ignore, accept, or embrace. 