About a dozen members of Occupy Kansas City and representatives of three human rights organizations say they are outraged at a broadside published and online that they call racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic.
Local Occupy organizers do not deny there are those sentiments in the movement but do not subscribe to them.
The collection of photos, cartoons and slogans attack and/or lampoon racial and ethnic groups as well as President Obama, GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Malcolm X, members of the Kansas City Council and others.
Some of the publications were mailed to Kansas City Council members.
Occupy Activist Michael Enriquez notes the material is published with the Occupy KC logo, thus magnifying it’s importance--“ the person or persons behind this act do not speak for Occupy Kansas City. In fact the opposite is true. Occupy Kansas City stands for racial equality, racial unity and respect for the rights of all people.”
At a news conference organized by the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, President of IREHR Leonard Zeskind said the message was typical of the KKK and the Aryan Nations.
A member of the publishing element told KCUR it consists of about a dozen people, using their First Amendment rights.