A woke Michigan city shelled out a staggering $18,000 to rip down hundreds of neighborhood watch signs after lawmakers branded them racist.
More than 600 of the blue-and-white metal lawn signs were yanked from the ground in Ann Arbor this week after officials unanimously signed off on the whopping cost to scrap them, claiming they encouraged racial profiling and distrust toward people of color, according to lawmakers and local outlets.
“Frankly, neighborhood watch signs are expressions of exclusion and they’re inconsistent with our values,” Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor said in a video shared by the city on Tuesday.
“Ann Arbor is a welcoming community. We don’t want to push people away. We want to welcome folks in.”
The city council voted 10-0 in December to remove the street watch signage, declaring they no longer served a public safety purpose or reflected the city’s push for inclusivity, Michigan Daily reported.
Officials said the 1970s-era Neighborhood Watch program – launched amid rising public safety concerns – is outdated and long inactive, citing research that claims the placards do nothing to stop crime and instead encourage biased surveillance.
“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,” Council Member Cynthia Harrison, who is black, said in the video touting the initiative.
“This is just representative of our values and how we want people to feel in Ann Arbor. 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.”
Taylor, who drew $18,000 from the city’s cash reserves to axe the signs, told residents they can still keep tabs on their streets through the Ann Arbor Independent Community Police Oversight Commission, the outlet reported.
While the lefty lawmakers cheered the move, critics blasted the pricey effort online.
“Oh my gosh. Is this a SNL skit????? This is the best laugh I have had in a long time,” one naysayer slammed.
Another called the effort an “absolute joke.”
“They’re signs of exclusions???? What??? Wow. I thought this was a skit! Neighborhood watch type signs absolutely help. I’ll be sure never to go there.”
