By Hunter Oberst
THE KEENE SENTINEL
WESTMORELAND — It was a brisk evening Tuesday outside the Westmoreland United Church, but that didn’t deter well over 100 people from gathering on the lawn, candles in hand, to show solidarity a week after a sign expressing the place of worship’s inclusivity was twice defaced with racist and homophobic graffiti.
Spirits were high as the attendees joined in singing “This Little Light of Mine,” while holding their candles — provided by the church or brought from home — close to their bodies. Children assembled at the front of the crowd, listening intently as Pastor Lynn Wickberg read the short story “We Loved Anyway” by Kristi Saviers McGuire.
Overnight last Tuesday and Wednesday, the church’s Plexiglas sign, which displays a rainbow flag with words including “diversity,” “love & life,” “sunlight” and “serenity” overlaid on each color, was vandalized.
In the first incident, the sign was marked by what Carol Austin, the church’s moderator, described as a Confederate rebel flag and the number 1488, which according to the Anti-Defamation League is a white-supremacist symbol.
A handful of volunteers joined last Wednesday to remove the graffiti with paint thinner, but overnight the sign was defaced once again with racist and homophobic slurs. That was removed later Thursday, Wickberg said.
The pastor, who wore a rainbow scarf Tuesday evening, said the idea behind the vigil came from community members who wanted to promote peaceful coexistence.
“We declare ourselves to be an open and affirming church that welcomes all of God’s people,” she said to the crowd. “Regardless of religious beliefs … sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, we welcome you to join us.
“The worry that this kind of hate has put forth has been expressed by so many people in so many ways,” she continued. “People are like, ‘This is not OK.’ “
Austin said the sign, which was erected just a few weeks ago, stands as a symbol of the church’s inclusivity.
“People are wounded by what the [graffiti on the] sign said, and if this event promotes healing then that’s a good thing,” she said.
Among those in attendance were members of the church, local elected officials and advocates for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Cathryn Harvey, who represents Westmoreland in the N.H. House, said she found the large turnout heartwarming but was not surprised by it.
“Some coward that did something out of sight of everybody else isn’t going to overtake our sense of the strong community that we are,” Harvey, a resident of nearby Spofford, told The Sentinel. “This is my home, and if someone did this to this church they did it to me and my home. It’s personal.”
Blue, a trans woman who lives in Keene, said that members of the LGBTQIA+ community are often victims of intimidation and harm “to try to get trans folks and queer folks back in the closet.” Blue requested The Sentinel not use her last name, for fear of retaliation.
“I’ve been out for eight years,” she said. “And I’ve never felt safe in public. … This is not just vandalism, it’s a warning; it’s a threat. And people have to show up and defend each other.”
She said Tuesday’s turnout was fantastic.
“Oh, I’m going to cry when I get home, but I can’t do it right now,” she said, laughing. “It shows that there’s more progressive values and more people that care about the LGBT community and care about defending trans lives than we might think. We just need to give people a community to plug into.”
Patrick Brown, a Brattleboro resident and board member for Keene Pride, said the group worked hard to get the word out about the event and encourage as many people as possible to attend.
“When someone commits a cowardly act of defacing something about unity and acceptance, I think it’s important for the community to come out and show that we’re here and we’re supporting each other and we’re not going to tolerate this level of intolerance,” said Brown, who owns Brown Computer Solutions in Keene.
Paul Berch, a state representative and Westmoreland resident, said that as a Jewish man, he felt personally affected by the “1488” that had been spray-painted on the sign.
“But the effect on me isn’t any different than the effect on people of color, people in the LGBTQ community and in the overall community,” he said. “It calls upon all of us to work together to move forward.”
In a Nov. 11 community letter they sent to The Sentinel, 19 clergy members of the Monadnock Interfaith Project described being heartbroken and angry by the bigoted graffiti outside the church and elsewhere in the community. The letter also references acts of vandalism at Keene High School.
Keene High Principal Cindy Gallagher said there will be a meeting at the school Wednesday evening to discuss the vandalism, where school administration will talk to families about how they can support the school. Gallagher said a girl’s bathroom was tagged with homophobic graffiti Monday, prompting her to send the letter.
“We’ll be sharing what some of our responses are … [and] I’m going to show some of the examples of the graffiti,” Gallagher said Wednesday morning, though she noted the meeting will be focused on solutions more than just reporting property damage.
Gallagher said the meeting will involve her showing families how to report pages on Instagram, talking with parents about how students are using their phones in school and sharing what resources are available for parents and students to help reduce acts of defacement.
“One thing I’m excited about [is] the number of students that are actually coming to us,” Gallagher said. “I’ve identified more people [involved in vandalism] this year in just a short amount of time because the students are helping us by reporting, … but we want to stop before it gets reportable.”
The interfaith project is a nonprofit coalition of area congregations and organizations that has led projects to increase social justice and tolerance in the region.
In their letter, the clergy members wrote that the community is at its best when it celebrates diversity.
“These vile acts have revealed that hate and violence are attempting to establish a home in our community,” the letter reads. “… Together we prophetically and unequivocally commit to the truth that there is no place or tolerance for these ugly behaviors.”
State Police said the investigation into last week’s vandalism is ongoing, and there were no updates as of Tuesday afternoon. They ask anyone with information about the incident to contact Trooper John Lucero at [email protected].
Hunter Oberst can be reached at 355-8546, or [email protected].
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