Bangor Equity, Human Rights, Inclusion Committee Issues Statement About Racist Vandalism in Bangor
Over the weekend, an incident occurred in Bangor that left many in the area shocked, disgusted, and saddened.
Two female teenagers were issued summonses for criminal mischief after spray painting derogatory phrases and racial slurs on the car of a Pakistani-American on Bolling Drive.
The case is in the process of determining if there were violations of Maine Civil Rights Act. Meanwhile, Bangor City Council has condemned the incident and the Council on American-Islamic Relations is encouraging charges to be filed against the teenagers, who were released to the custody of their guardians.
Bangor's Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion and Human Rights put out a statement on Monday night about the incident calling it 'repulsive' and that behavior like this will not be tolerated in the City of Bangor.
"Our community was shaken by the heinous and racist transgression on one of our own. The attack happened to a Person of Color whose car was vandalized with racial slurs. This incident is atrocious, despicable and repulsive. It reflects bias, ignorance, and prejudice. The City of Bangor will not tolerate such actions and will firmly stand up for justice, as has always been the case. The Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Human Rights expresses support to the victim and anyone else affected by discrimination. As we denounce this hate crime, we want to make it clear that we will not let incidents like this go unnoticed or ignored. We are continually working on our process to better address racism of all forms both individual and systemic. We are confident that this act of hatred will not scare us but will rather bring us closer together. Our message today is that there is zero tolerance for this kind of behavior, and we all stand united behind our fellow neighbors."
Please be kind. Respect your neighbors as you wish to be respected.