Earlier this month, I drove along Fern Beach Drive on Lake Melissa, near Detroit Lakes. My family has lived on Fern Beach for almost 75 years. This year I was heartened to see a neighbor’s Black Lives Matter sign in bright yellow letters posted in their yard next to the road. My family is black. This year we felt particularly welcomed and acknowledged when we saw that sign in our neighborhood.
Sometime overnight someone vandalized the sign, spray painting out its message on both sides.
I choose to believe that the hatred motivating the destruction of positive, life-affirming free speech on private property is not shared by the vast majority of our neighbors. But the ugly racism that is reflected in that vandalism belongs to someone likely living in our relative vicinity. Their hatred is dangerous, disgusting and vile.
In spite of their attempt to blacken it out, Black Lives Still Matter. We are here to stay. Get over it.
Betsy Lanier McMillan
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Detroit Lakes
