AUDUBON — Red and blue lawn signs are popping up around New Jersey, but they’re not for any politician or political party.
The signs reading “Hate Has No Home Here” in six languages are intended to send a message of peace and inclusion while denouncing hate speech, said Robin Coyne, who proudly displays a sign on her Audubon lawn.
Robin Coyne poses with an anti-hate speech sign. (Courtesy of Hate Has No Home Here Camden County/South Jersey)
Coyne and her husband, Joseph Coyne, have started a local branch of a Chicago-based grassroots campaign to spread the anti-hate message.
A group of neighbors in Chicago’s North Park area started printing the signs in November and encouraged others around the country to do the same. According to the website, the signs are popping up all over the U.S. — including several counties in New Jersey — and have even landed on other continents.
Coyne said they fell in love with the idea when they saw signs everywhere while visiting friends in Glenside, Penn.
“We were so impressed by all the houses that had these signs,” she said. “We just thought it was such a cool idea and we saw how many people in that community felt strongly about keeping hate speech and hate out of their community.”
The topic seems especially relevant this week, as homes in nearby Maple Shade, Cinnaminson and Moorestown received Valentine-themed KKK flyers on their doorsteps over the weekend. Police and local civil rights groups have condemned the flyers as hate speech.
Coyne said she hopes the signs will help people feel safe in the community and make a statement that hateful language is not welcome. It’s a non-partisan campaign and message, she said, but necessary partly because of the very partisan feelings that are everywhere now.
Cops unsure if KKK fliers had specific targets
“In this current political climate, both sides are hitting below the belt,” she said, and hate speech is being hurled. “This can just make people aware that what they’re saying today is affecting people, whether they’re saying it in person or on the internet.”
According to the project’s website, two elementary school students in the diverse North Park neighborhood came up with the phrase and several other community members created the graphics and launched the campaign.
Coyne said the original sign features the phrase in English, Urdu, Hebrew, Korean, Arabic and Spanish, the languages most spoken at the North Park elementary school. The website also offers it with other languages, and anyone can download and print the signs themselves.
The campaign invites others to distribute the signs in their communities, as long as any money raised is only used for printing and distribution.
How to spread the word
The Coynes created a Facebook page to get the word out about the Camden County and South Jersey Hate Has No Home Here project and let people know how to pick up signs. They had their first 100 signs printed and delivered Feb. 2 but they went fast. By the time the second shipment of 100 came less than a week later, most were already spoken for, Coyne said.
They charge $4.10 for each sign to cover the cost of its production, she said. People who don’t have lawns or aren’t allowed to post signs have inquired, she said, so she’s now ordering tote bags that will cost around $7 when they are available.
“We see quite a few in Audubon, but also in Haddonfield, Haddon Township, Collingswood, Oaklyn,” Coyne said of the signs. She works in Philadelphia and has also distributed some to acquaintances there.
“It’s very reassuring to see our neighbors and the community felt strongly about it,” she said.
Other people are distributing signs in Camden, Atlantic, Cape May and Essex counties. The Hate Has No Home Here website provides a map to find the closest distributor.
Anyone looking to pick up a sign from the Coynes can arrange it by contacting them at hhnhhcamdencounty@gmail.com or via the Facebook page.
Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
