San Leandro resolution condemns white nationalist, supremacist hate groups

A resolution condemning white nationalist and white supremacist hate groups and declaring support for classifying the Ku Klux Klan as a domestic terrorist organization under federal law was unanimously approved last week by the San Leandro City Council.

The council action followed community requests for formal action to condemn white supremacy in the wake of protests nationwide over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis earlier this year, the city said in an announcement.

The city cited publicly available crime data showing that:

“(T)he United States has also witnessed an increase in racially motivated hate crimes and threats over the past year, including against persons of Asian ethnicity following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter said in a statement:

“Along with my colleagues on the City Council, we felt it was important for our City to issue a firm statement condemning hateful actions and the ideologies of hate groups.”