Controversial Race Campaign Backfires In Roxbury
BOSTON (CBS) - There are a bunch of things competing for your attention in Roxbury's Dudley Square.
A woman preaching through a megaphone.
A guy playing the trumpet by the MBTA station.
And the bustle that is everyday life here.
But the outrage over some seemingly racist posters quickly overshadowed everything else.
"Ooooh!" one black woman exclaimed. "That pisses me off. You can take that out of my sight right now!"
"That's terrible," a white woman chimed in. "I hate to see that anywhere."
They're both talking about flyers pasted on several buildings and poles – depicting black children with the phrase "IS A N---- A CITIZEN?" Witnesses have told police they saw a group of young men putting them up Monday night – only to have merchants tear them down the next morning.
Joyce Stanley showed me where an offending poster was slapped on her building. She's a community activist and merchant organizer in Dudley Square. "This is divisive," says Stanley. "Most of us are horrified and we're not going to stand for anything like that."
But the puzzle got more complicated when some smaller cards turned up with the same phrase and a similar image on one side – and a vague schedule of public meetings on the other – which Twitter buzz indicates might be part of a social media campaign to provoke discussions about racism.
The suggested gatherings in Dudley Square, Copley Square, Fort Hill and the Common are listed for every day through the Fourth of July.
The Dudley Square trumpeter seems to get it – pointing out the provocative message successfully hit a nerve.
"The cause is being disenfranchised," he told us while reading a poster. "It's about some people feeling like second class citizens."
But some other folks argue it's an awful approach. "They're not going to get too many people to attend," one woman told us. "After reading that thing I don't want anything to do with them."
Indeed, longtime activist Joyce Stanley says it's misguided marketing – at best. "I guess it's supposed to provoke conversation," she told us. "But I don't like it. It sends the wrong message."
Exactly what group is behind the controversial campaign isn't yet clear. It remains to be seen how many curious folks show up – but many Dudley Square merchants hope they've seen the last of the flyers.