Cross-Burning Bigots Fail to Spread Evil Ignorance

In the pre-dawn hours of July 28 in the Indian Village neighborhood of Westminster, a black family was awakened by a burning cross on their front lawn. Since then other families, black, white, Asian and Latino, have received threatening phone calls and have been taunted by groups of Skinheads driving by their homes.

White supremacist graffiti has been sprayed throughout the neighborhood. Police suspect it’s all the work of Skinhead gang members.

As Westminster Mayor Charles V. Smith said, swastikas and burning crosses represent “the worst of the human heart . . . a profound hate that is so frightening because it is so illogical and unfathomable.” The hate and ignorance are frightening. But, at the same time, the immediate and bold reaction to the cowardly act against Ted and Lillie Heisser and their family is reassuring. The cross-burning bigots have failed. Instead of driving a wedge into the neighborhood, their act has brought residents of all ethnic backgrounds closer together, united against prejudice and hatred.

Neighbors, religious and civic leaders and people from all over Southern California have rallied to stand by the Heisser family, condemning the cross-burning and the racism it represents. An anti-racism campaign and an education program for youth are being started in Westminster. Racist graffiti is being painted out.

And on Thursday, neighbors gathered for a block party for the Heissers in a show of friendship and support. The burn marks from the cross have nearly faded, but the memory of the incident hasn’t. The community is holding onto that, as it ought to, as a reminder that it must band together and fight racism whenever and wherever it is unleashed.