by Hunter Bertram, Vincent Saglimbeni
COEUR D’ALENE, ID. — The University of Utah women’s basketball team was the victim of an alleged racially motivated attack that raises concerns of rising hatred in Coeur d’Alene and the Inland Northwest altogether.
On Thursday, March 21, the team reported a truck with a confederate flag stalked, harassed and intimidated the team in a racially-motivated attack.
The Inland Northwest is an epicenter to years of hatred. Once the capital of the Aryan Nation that sought to ethnically cleanse the area, and following Thursday’s incident, it raises questions of where our community stands.
“Gonzaga has a center for the Study of Hate that was established in 1997 and has been a presence on this campus ever since,” Kristine Hoover, a faculty member in the school of leadership studies at Gonzaga University, said. “We have the ability to respond when we aren’t our best selves. And that’s really what we’re called to do, to be our best selves, to shine a light in the dark corners so that we can name what is, so that we can reach who we want to be as a better community because we can do better.”
Doing better is a tale this area constantly has struggled with. Only a few years ago in the heart of Coeur d’Alene, there was an anti LGBTQ+ rally of mask extremists.
Just north of the City, the base camp of the Aryan Nation was near Hayden Lake. The extremist group came to an end in 2001, almost two decades ago.
According to data from the Southern Poverty Law Center, known for its accurate reporting of hate groups and extremists, in 2022, there were 29 reported hate and antigovernment groups in Washington and 21 hate and anti government groups in Idaho.
The data does not include the number of members part of the group.
“We need to recognize and condemn immediately the acts that happened that no person, whether they’re an athlete or not, should be a target of racism or bigotry,” Hoover said.
In a time of an incident that once again put the national spotlight in the area, Hoover wants our community to be better once and for all.
Over the last two days, community members and leaders say what happened in Coeur d’Alene does not reflect the community. But some say the hate is deeply ingrained.
#VintageDava, #Coeurdalene, #Awareness, #College, #CrazyTimes, #Drama, #Education, #HelpfulTips, #InterestingFacts, #Idaho, #Raciism, #HateCrime, #UnitedStates
Connect with Me At:
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/vintagedava
https://www.facebook.com/VintageDava
https://www.instagram.com/vintagedava
https://www.threads.net/@vintagedava
Vintage Dava 