Teh One Who Knocks
07-14-2011, 06:56 PM
By Winston W. Wiley TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER — The library board of directors voted last night to suspend the meeting room reservation privileges of North East White Pride after a video surfaced in which, board members believe, the group is attempting to incite violence at a meeting Saturday.
The video, found on YouTube, announces the group’s meeting at 3 p.m. Saturday and invites people to show up with their bike locks. Board members said the reference is to an assault that allegedly took place on June 4, when about 10 people, some of them masked, barged into a White Pride meeting in the Banx room. One of the intruders was carrying a metal bike lock.
No one was arrested, according to board members, but police did recover the bike lock.
The group has billed the meeting Saturday as part of a monthly “meet and greet,” but library board members said last night the meeting date was never confirmed by the person who initially called to book it. The person wanted to book three dates in three consecutive months, but failed to confirm a date or call back when he was told he could only book one date at a time.
“The goal of the meeting is to establish that White people have the right to meet in publicly available conference rooms without threat of violence from anti-White groups …” the group’s website says. “The library’s staff has repeatedly acknowledged our rights.”
Board members last night decided that in addition to suspending the group’s privileges for 90 days, the board would work to develop a policy for reserving meeting space. They asked Michael Traynor, deputy city solicitor, to research the definition of hate speech. In addition, the Police Department will be asked to look into whether there have been problems with the New Hampshire-based group in other communities.
Kevin Ksen, who attended last night’s meeting, said the issue is that the group promotes violence against other people and groups through its inflammatory speech.
“That’s the conversation we should be having, and why do we want to allow a group of outsiders to come into our community to promote violence?” he said.
Board member Williams S. Coleman III’s subcommittee was given the task of developing a policy for room reservations. He said the committee would hold hearings to solicit input from the public on the policy. The meetings will begin in August, he said.
The white pride group has held about six meetings at the library, beginning in November.
The group first came to public attention in February when it booked a meeting on the same night as a black cultural event.
“It’s the American balancing act,” said Kevin Dowd, president of the board. “We are trying to balance free speech and public safety, and libraries are at the forefront of that.”
WORCESTER — The library board of directors voted last night to suspend the meeting room reservation privileges of North East White Pride after a video surfaced in which, board members believe, the group is attempting to incite violence at a meeting Saturday.
The video, found on YouTube, announces the group’s meeting at 3 p.m. Saturday and invites people to show up with their bike locks. Board members said the reference is to an assault that allegedly took place on June 4, when about 10 people, some of them masked, barged into a White Pride meeting in the Banx room. One of the intruders was carrying a metal bike lock.
No one was arrested, according to board members, but police did recover the bike lock.
The group has billed the meeting Saturday as part of a monthly “meet and greet,” but library board members said last night the meeting date was never confirmed by the person who initially called to book it. The person wanted to book three dates in three consecutive months, but failed to confirm a date or call back when he was told he could only book one date at a time.
“The goal of the meeting is to establish that White people have the right to meet in publicly available conference rooms without threat of violence from anti-White groups …” the group’s website says. “The library’s staff has repeatedly acknowledged our rights.”
Board members last night decided that in addition to suspending the group’s privileges for 90 days, the board would work to develop a policy for reserving meeting space. They asked Michael Traynor, deputy city solicitor, to research the definition of hate speech. In addition, the Police Department will be asked to look into whether there have been problems with the New Hampshire-based group in other communities.
Kevin Ksen, who attended last night’s meeting, said the issue is that the group promotes violence against other people and groups through its inflammatory speech.
“That’s the conversation we should be having, and why do we want to allow a group of outsiders to come into our community to promote violence?” he said.
Board member Williams S. Coleman III’s subcommittee was given the task of developing a policy for room reservations. He said the committee would hold hearings to solicit input from the public on the policy. The meetings will begin in August, he said.
The white pride group has held about six meetings at the library, beginning in November.
The group first came to public attention in February when it booked a meeting on the same night as a black cultural event.
“It’s the American balancing act,” said Kevin Dowd, president of the board. “We are trying to balance free speech and public safety, and libraries are at the forefront of that.”