'Racist' Thin Blue Line Flag Display Prompts Library To Apologize

EVANSTON, IL — Evanston Public Library officials issued an apology Thursday for "racist imagery" contained in a book display promoting an upcoming seminar.

As part of the signage publicizing plans for the Nov. 2 single-session mini-course, "Police Reform: Progress and Pitfalls," library staff included a book display sign with an American flag containing a blue line, commonly known as the "Thin Blue Line" flag.

"We acknowledge the harm this image has caused in our community, particularly for those who identify as Black, Indigenous, or POC," library officials said in a statement. "The library is committed to identifying, understanding, and rectifying our injustices past and current, as well as developing anti-racist policies and procedures that promote equity."

The Thin Blue Line flag was created by a college student in 2014 following the on-duty killing of a pair of New York City police officers. That student, Andrew Jacob, now the president of an online retailer devoted to selling pro-police merchandise, told the Marshall Project last year that the flag is not associated with racism or bigotry.

"It’s a flag to show support for law enforcement—no politics involved," Jacob said.

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Related: Thin Blue Line Flags Removed From Suburban Police Uniforms

Critics contend the symbol, which has been displayed by extremists at gatherings such as the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, represents white supremacy or the idea that police are the only force preventing societal decay.

Earlier this year, Randy Shrewsberry, executive director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Training Reform and a a former police officer, called for law enforcement agencies to ban the use of the flag.

"The idea of the 'thin blue line' is ridiculous, in my view, and adds to the false notion that the police are the fabric of what holds society together," Shrewsberry told the Wisconsin Examiner. "I think the flag, or symbol, has become the representative of the absurd 'Blue Lives Matter' chant — which is a racist trope that attempts to water down the importance of the Black Lives Matter campaign."

Controversy over the inclusion of the symbol in the badge of the Mount Prospect Police Department led to a 4-3 village board vote in August to remove the flag.

"How a symbol that represents a memorial to police officers killed serving their community can turn into a symbol of hate defies all logic," Mount Prospect Police Chief John Koziol said ahead of the vote.

In Evanston, the sign was placed on the second floor of the library's main branch on Friday and removed on Monday, according to a library spokesperson.

"We hereby commit," the library's apology continued, "to develop a system for a more sensitive review of signage, programs, collections, policies and procedures drafts for potentially offensive imagery before inclusion in displays."

The library's free mini-course examining issued involving police reform is scheduled to be held over video-teleconferencing software from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 2. More information and registration is available online.