Police investigate reports of racist flyers delivered to local homes with comments about interracial couples

WATERLOO REGION — Waterloo Regional Police are investigating reports of racist letters warning against interracial marriages being delivered to people’s mailboxes in Kitchener-Waterloo.

The racist flyers sparked outrage among community leaders, both Black and white.

“I cannot believe it’s 2020 and that’s what people are waking up to in their mailboxes,” said Kitchener Centre MPP Laura Mae Lindo.

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic

condemned the flyers, calling them “absolutely disgusting and repulsive.”

“We have an obligation to respond especially as people of white privilege who don’t live anti-Black racism on a daily basis,” he said.

Police said they received complaints from the community about the flyers which show a stock photo of a Black man and a white woman and racist comments about interracial couples and their children.

Some of the flyers were delivered to buildings owned by Wilfrid Laurier University.

“We are unaware of who is responsible for delivering this reprehensible material. Our Special Constable Services have been advised and will be providing extra patrols,” said Laurier in a statement on Wednesday.

Police spokesperson Cherri Greeno said detectives, as well as officers in the hate crime unit, are looking into the hate literature.

“This is a high priority for us and we are looking to identify those disseminating the flyers,” Greeno said on Wednesday.

“At this point we aren’t sure how many were circulated, but we are asking anyone who has received one to call us immediately and limit their handling of the flyer to preserve any possible forensic evidence such as fingerprints,” she said.

In a statement, Canada Post said it had no idea about the contents of the envelopes it delivered.

The offensive flyers were inside a stamped opaque envelope and placed in a street letter box.

“Had this item been deposited at our facilities as a direct mail piece, where we could view the flyer, it would have been reviewed and assessed before any further steps were taken,” the statement said.

Kitchener community advocate Donalee McIntyre said the text in the flyer is about eugenics (the theory of improving a population by controlled breeding for desirable inherited characteristics).

“Eugenics is fake and it is race science,” she said. “Race is not real, but racism is real.”

McIntyre said racism is a daily experience for people of colour. She said those who don’t experience discrimination need to speak up when they see anti-Black racism.

“We need people who are not affected by this, white people, people who claim solidarity to address views like this,” McIntyre said.

Lindo said a concrete strategy needs to happen to stamp out systemic racism.

“We can’t just make more statements,” she said. “We need actionable items and we need to assess that change has happened.”

Such actions would be required courses on Black and Indigenous history for high school students.

“Racism within our communities escalates when leadership is silent,” she said.

Lindo said Black, Indigenous and racialized groups aren’t asking for task forces that come up feel-good recommendations, but real change to address their experiences related to employment equity, affordable housing and food security issues.

“When those reactions (task forces and committees) are the only reactions that racialized people anticipate and expect, there is a sense of futility,” she said.

“We have to get creative and not just tell people how to be tolerant, but to re-teach. There is some information that people are missing about race and difference.”

Police are encouraging anyone who received the hate mail, or anyone who has any information about the flyers, to call them at 519-570-9777 or leave an anonymous tip at Crime Stoppers at 1-800-2228477. Anonymous tips can also be submitted at waterloocrimestoppers.com.