Neighbors hang KKK flag in window in response to Black neighbor’s security camera

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via Email
• Copy Link

  Link Copied

According to Deadline Detroit, JeDonna Matthews Dinges looked through her side window Tuesday in Grosse Point Park and faced a Ku Klux Klan flag hanging in her neighbor’s side window.

Dinges, a Black woman, said she was shocked and upset by the sight of the flag. After advice from friends, she called the Michigan attorney general’s office because she didn’t have confidence authorities would help. They told her that there was nothing they could do because the offensive banner was on private property. 

Dinges and her friends then posted pictures of the hanging flag on social media — and shortly after, a pair public-safety detectives came to her door. They reportedly told Dinges the neighbors they’d just visited told them the Klan flag was in their window because she had recently installed a surveillance camera on hers.

She told detectives the camera was necessary because she found a full gasoline canister in trash and was worried that someone put it there to cause an explosion. Dinges contended she’d gone to local police about the gasoline, but nothing was done. The camera was put up, she said, to capture evidence for law enforcement.

After taking notes and asking questions, the two detectives allegedly left, and the flag was soon taken down.

Now, allies have decided to protest this weekend against the white residents who put the Ku Klux Klan flag up. The group will be meeting in Grosse Point Park on Sunday at a still-undisclosed location.

Read More: It’s time to expel the Ku Klux Karens from the United States Congress

“Grosse Pointe Park is arguably the most diverse city in the five Grosse Pointe and yet, someone felt comfortable enough to leave their racism in their neighbor’s face with the oldest symbol of white, domestic terrorism perpetuated on Black Americans for over a hundred years,” officials from the Grosse Pointes-Harper Woods NAACP said in a statement. “This signals a deeper challenge we must all overcome in our community.” 

The rally will be held at 2 p.m. according to WE GP, a local community organization. The group released a statement saying the demonstration is meant to support the Dinges and signify that hate has “NO Home in GP.”

Read More: Rep. Al Green, NAACP demand Houston’s ‘Negrohead Lake’ to be renamed

The Grosse Pointes-Harper Woods NAACP, St. Paul AME and the Grosse Pointe Democratic Club are co-hosting Sunday’s gathering.

“Intolerance, hate and ignorance have no home in the Park. Threats, either real or perceived, will not be tolerated. The Department is reviewing the facts and its records to ensure its officers have consistently acted appropriately and in accordance with policy,” Grosse Pointe Park public safety department officials said in a statement. The city also promised to look into the police department’s response to Dinges’ original complaint.

Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast, “Dear Culture?” Download our newest episodes now! TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!