A grassroots organization in Livingston County says the city of Howell is not doing enough to combat far-right extremism in the community.
The group called Stand Against Extremism LivCo, or SAGE, has hosted several counter-protests this year following Neo-Nazi demonstrations in Livingston County. The most recent came after the November election where far-right activists gathered and waved Nazi flags outside a performance of the play The Diary of Anne Frank at an American Legion building.
Howell's mayor Bob Ellis, who attended SAGE's counter-protest, says the city has had a reputation for racism going back decades.
“It makes people not want to live here, not want to shop here, not want to visit. So, it has an effect on our local economy and, you know, we'd like to reassure people that we're a welcoming community," he said.
Ellis says the city is hiring a public relations firm to promote the community as an inclusive place to live.
He also says city officials are working with members of the Livingston County Diversity Council to implement a county-wide reporting system early next year for tracking incidents of bias and hate.
"There isn't any standardized mechanism for investigating incidents of bias that aren't crimes," he said. "A good example of that is these hate group demonstrations because they're within their First Amendment rights. They haven't violated any laws, and so it's not considered a hate crime."
But SAGE co-founder Julie Ohashi says city leaders are not being proactive to stop white supremacist and extremist groups from organizing.
"Our assumption that the inaction and the silence are giving these white supremacist tactic acceptance to continue harassing our community members, making our marginalized neighbors feel unsafe and keeping folks away who would normally, you know, shop and eat here," she said.
"That's why we're taking action, because if we don't, we know the hate will continue to escalate."
Ohashi says SAGE maintains a form on its Facebook page for reporting hate and bias incidents. She adds the group asked county and city officials earlier this year to create a reporting mechanism.
Ohashi says she'd also like to see police officers and sheriff's deputies receive more cultural competency and bias training as well as for the county to create a Hate and Bias Response team.
"We have to find the source and get rid of it, and people don't come where they're not wanted. So, Livingston County needs to figure out why these groups think they're welcomed here, and then solve that problem."
The organization is also collaborating with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights to develop long-term and community-driven strategies to combat hate.