The liberal city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, has spent $18,000 in taxpayer funds to remove more than 600 “Neighborhood Watch” signs after city officials declared the crime prevention signs “expressions of exclusion” that allegedly promote racial profiling and make people of color feel “unwelcome.”
The signs were yanked from front yards and public spaces by city crews over the past few weeks, with the final one removed last week.
Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor personally helped remove the last sign alongside two city council members.
In a video statement posted to Instagram to virtue signal, Taylor declared, “Frankly, neighborhood watch signs are expressions of exclusion, and they’re inconsistent with our values. Ann Arbor is a welcoming community. We don’t want to push people away. We want to welcome folks in.”
WATCH:
A post shared by The City of Ann Arbor – Government (@thecityofannarborgovernment)
Council Member Cynthia Harrison, who is Black, strongly supported the removal.
In the announcement video, Harrison stated, “There are people that look like me, and those from my community that have been questioned, quite frankly, in their own neighborhood by others, you know, wondering what they’re doing there.”
“This is just representative of our values and how we want people to feel in Ann Arbor,” Harrison continued. “We do welcome everyone to the city of Ann Arbor, but most importantly, we want everyone to feel welcome, and just the removal of these signs is a huge step in that direction.”
The city council voted 10-0 in December to direct staff to remove every single Neighborhood Watch sign by July 15.
Officials unanimously approved the $18,000 expenditure earlier this year, drawing the money from the city’s general cash reserves rather than from the police or street maintenance budgets.
Ann Arbor officials claim the Neighborhood Watch program, launched nationwide in the 1970s amid rising crime concerns, has been “defunct” and inactive for decades.
The officials also cited research showing the signs do not actually reduce crime and instead “reinforce biased surveillance practices” and create distrust toward people of color.
“These programs were often rooted in assumptions about who did and did not ‘belong’ in a neighborhood, reinforcing race-based hyper-vigilance and suspicion particularly toward Black, Brown, and other marginalized residents and visitors,” the council claimed in the December resolution.
“This dynamic encouraged informal surveillance practices that disproportionately targeted people of color and contributed to patterns of exclusion under the guise of public safety,” the resolution continued.
In its official statement, the city said, “Removing the signs aligns the city’s environment with its commitment to inclusive, evidence-based public safety.”
The post Liberal Insanity: Michigan Town Spends $18,000 in Taxpayer Cash to Rip Out Over 600 ‘Racist’ Neighborhood Watch Signs, Mayor Calls Them ‘Expressions of Exclusion’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.