LINCOLN SQUARE — Lincoln Square neighbors were stunned to find white supremacist graffiti scrawled throughout the Greater Rockwell area on Saturday — and they've scheduled a peace walk for Sunday evening in response.
Sidewalks were sprayed in multiple locations with messages including, "Diversity Is White Genocide." Another message, "Make Weimar Great Again," with "SS" next to it, was painted on a garage door.
The Weimar Republic was the name given to the German government just before the Nazis rose to power. The SS was Adolph Hitler's brutal secret service.
Another message said, "You will not replace us." Neo-nazis and white supremacists at a Charlottesville rally earlier this month chanted a similar refrain, "Jews will not replace us."
All of the graffiti was found in an area bounded by Sunnyside, Lawrence, Rockwell and Campbell.
Residents took it upon themselves to paint over or scrub out most of the graffiti, chalking their own messages of "Hate Has No Home Here" in response. They reported the graffiti to police the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Stuart Lange recruited neighbors to scrub "Make Weimar Great Again" off of his garage — after police documented the vandalism.
"It's just disgusting. It's hard to know how to react," said Lange.
Though he doesn't believe he was specifically targeted, Lange said, "It doesn't matter what the motivation is. It's a horrible thing to write."
Lange has lived in the neighborhood for six years and said the worst thing he'd previously encountered was package theft.
"This is a great neighborhood. It's a great community. You hate to see stuff like this," he said.
Residents have already planned a "positive chalking" event for 5 p.m. Sunday to send the message "this is not who we are," according to Jason Rieger, one of the event's organizers.
Neighbors should meet at Waters Elementary, at Sunnyside and Campbell, and the group will march from there to Jacob Park, 4674 N. Virginia Ave.
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The graffiti was found on a Lincoln Square garage door. [Facebook]
The stencil was found in multiple locations. The "diversity = white genocide" meme has been in use by white supremacists for several years. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]
An early morning dog walker found this graffiti on Campbell. [Provided]
Neighbors scrubbed the graffiti from Stuart Lange's garage. After Chicago police officers documented the vandalism, Lange said he didn't want the hateful message to linger through the weekend until city crews could blast it off on Monday. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]
Neighbors also scrubbed "You will not replace us" and responded with "Hate has no home here" in chalk. [DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]
