Martin Luther King, Jr. Bridge In Indiana Vandalized With a Call For The Death Of Interracial Couples

Just a few days after the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge in Fort Wayne, Indiana has been vandalized for the second time in two weeks.

Racist writings were discovered on Sunday on two benches which appeared to be written in black marker on the white slats of the benches. The disturbing words were directed at interracial relationships.

Frank Suarez, a spokesman for the city, said, “Fort Wayne residents embrace and take pride in our landmarks.”

The writing specifically targets the relationships of black men with white women, according to the Journal Gazette.

“White women do not need to mix … keep the white race pure,” the passage began on one bench.

Written on the other bench was a call for the death of interracial couples and again makes a claim to “keep the white race pure.”

One bench calls for people to remember Joseph Paul Franklin, a killer who spouted white supremacist views and was recently executed for the deaths of more than 20 people.

In statements to national media before his execution, he said his objective was to start a race war.

Targeting interracial couples was one focus, if not the main focus, of his killing spree during the late 1970s.

One of his intended victims was civil rights leader Vernon Jordan, who survived being shot by Franklin in Fort Wayne in 1980 outside Jordan’s hotel.

This is the second time in two weeks vandalism has occurred on the bridge. In the previous vandalism, a smiley face was found painted on one of the plaques with King’s face on it at the end of the bridge, according to police and images posted to local media websites.

Anomaly100