Some Quad Cities residents are reporting that they're receiving more than just their newspaper when it gets delivered.
The racist fliers showed up Thursday in Bettendorf and Davenport, attached to some papers. The racist message instructs white people to practice "racial and social distancing" to help avoid contracting COVID-19.
The flyer cites an April 7th Washington Post article, bringing attention to the disproportionate infection and death rates of COVID-19 among black Americans. “They're playing off of that in the current state that we're in,” said resident Elizabeth Cunningham.
Cunningham tells TV6 that she saw a post on Facebook and, as a nursing student, felt compelled to speak out. “Being in a pandemic and with all of the protests and things happening, they view it as a good time to push their agenda, their white supremacist agenda.”
As a lifelong resident of the Quad Cities, she finds this kind of messaging unacceptable in the community. “I just want people to know that that's not what our community is about,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham hopes others will continue speaking up as well. “Tolerating it is allowing it to change our society in a bad way, so doing something about it is really important."
TV6 contacted local police departments who say they have been made aware of flyers being circulated in the past. Bettendorf police believe the flyers are being distributed by a small group. Police encourage the public to contact them to file a report in a case like this.