The community of Portsmouth, New Hampshire is coming together to counter a hateful graffiti spree that saw 15 downtown sites marked with swastikas and other symbols earlier this week. The targets of the hate crime included a synagogue, minority-owned businesses, and storefronts with rainbow flags supporting the LGBTQ community.
In response to this act of hate, local nonprofit groups and city officials organized “Love in Bloom,” a weekend aimed at highlighting hope and connection instead of hate. Residents were encouraged to pick up fresh flowers from a local coffee shop, which was one of the vandalized buildings, and distribute the blooms to the other 14 locations as a symbol of love and support.
The Assistant Mayor of Portsmouth, Joanna Kelley, who owns the café, said that the goal of the “Love in Bloom” campaign was to outshine hate by being more vocal and spreading kindness. “They’re proud of their mentality, their thoughts. They marched loudly in our streets and we feel that we have to be louder than they are,” Kelley said.
Temple Israel, one of the sites targeted, invited the public to an interfaith “Community Gathering for Love” on Sunday afternoon. The hour-long event aimed to bring the community together to share thoughts, music, song, and prayer, with the goal of weaving “an energetic quilt of love and friendship.”
While the attorney general’s office and local police are investigating the hate crime, the community of Portsmouth is showing that love and connection can be a powerful force in countering acts of hate and bigotry.
