There Goes the Neighborhood is a weekly series from Imagine 2050 staff highlighting upcoming nativist events.
This week, events are scheduled in Illinois, California, Texas, and Florida.
On Monday, February 20, the local chapter of anti-Muslim grassroots group ACT for America will hold a meeting in Des Plaines, Illinois. According to online announcements, the meeting will focus on refugee resettlement, a primary target of the organized anti-Muslim movement. Like previous Des Plaines ACT chapter meetings, this one will be held a local public library. Officials at the library have previous condemned the group, claiming that they found “materials being shared by ACT! for Des Plaines reprehensible, bigoted and Islamaphobic [sic] and we in no way agree with the hateful sentiments they express.”
On Tuesday, February 21, noted anti-Muslim speaker Ayaan Hirsi Ali will speak in Thousand Oaks, California. Ali’s speech is part of The Distinguished Speaker Series of Southern California. Ali, who has described Islam as “a destructive, nihilistic cult of death,” spoke in northern California last month.
Also on Tuesday, February 21, anti-immigrant group Texans for Immigration Reduction and Enforcement (TFIRE) will hold a meeting in Houston, Texas. TFIRE’s featured speaker will be Roy White, one of ACT for America’s most prolific activists. White recently described his anti-Muslim activism as part of “a spiritual battle of good and evil” to The Washington Post. Last month, White spoke to ACT members in California and TFIRE hosted a Texas Eagle Forum activist urging the passing of unnecessary anti-Shariah law legislation known as “American Laws for American Courts” in the Lone Star State.
On Thursday, February 23, the anti-Muslim Citizens for National Security will host a seminar by Dr. Zudhi Jasser, a noted validator of anti-Muslim messages. Jasser, who is Muslim, regularly associates with leading anti-Muslim demagogues. He spoke alongside several of them on a panel at last September’s Values Voter Summit.
Finally, on Thursday, February 23, the San Antonio, Texas chapter of ACT for America will host a meeting featuring lawyer and anti-mosque campaigner Karen Lugo. In December, the conspiracy-spewing anti-Muslim think tank Center for Security Policy published Lugo’s book, Mosques in America: A Guide to Accountable Permit Hearings and Continuing Citizen Oversight. According to The Washington Post, San Antonio ACT chapter leader Roy White claimed Lugo would discuss “how to push back against building mosques in your communities.”
Additional information on these events and others can be found in the map below. A red star indicates events scheduled for next week.
Know of any nativist events not located on this map? Please contact us or fill out this form: