Diversity event to offset supremacists
The leader of the World Church of the Creator is planning to call for the
expulsion of Somalis from Lewiston in a speech at the Lewiston Armory on
Jan. 11. The Illinois-based group is the second white supremacist group to
target Lewiston since the mayor urged Somalis to discourage friends and
relatives from moving to the city. The World Church of the Creator, which
describes itself as a religion based on the supremacy of the white race, has
been granted permission to use the city facility.
Some local religious and community leaders have announced a plan to hold a
celebration of diversity. Representatives of the Franco-American Heritage
Center, Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, the Sisters of St. Joseph, the Maine
Rural Workers Association and the local Ba'hai and Armenian communities are
among those involved in the diversity celebration.
About 1,000 Somalis have moved to Lewiston from other U.S. cities in the
last year and a half. Their arrival in the city of 36,000 was followed by
rumors of special treatment. Somali leaders reacted with anger when Mayor
Larry Raymond asked them to stem their flow, saying that the city's
resources were being overtaxed. The city says it pays $382,000 for services
for Somalis, primarily English as a second language programs and general
assistance. That figure represents about 0.5 percent of Lewiston's $70
million budget, $40 million of which the city must raise through local
property taxes. Somali leaders initially accused Raymond of bigotry, but
relations between the two sides have since been smoothed over.
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