In February, the editor of the small town of Linden's local newspaper published an editorial calling for the "the Ku Klux Klan to night ride again" to "clean out D.C." This kind of racism is absolutely unacceptable. It puts black, brown, and other marginalized communities at risk and furthers the reputation of small town Alabama as backward and bigoted.

We know this one man doesn't represent our small town values and we won't let him define us to the rest of the world. Take the pledge to uphold hometown values including:

• Racial Justice

• Gender Equity

• Sustainable Communities

• Fair Economy

• True Democracy

• Quality Education

• Healthcare as a Human Right