Racist signs put up at bus stops may not be an isolated incident

The racist, anti-immigrant signs found at multiple RTD bus stops along Colfax Avenue on Thursday had neighbors feeling negative emotions. Residents in the area near Colfax Avenue and Garfield Street were shocked to learn of this happening in their Congress Park neighborhood.

"That's wild," said Lowry Miller a Denver resident.

Others, like Terry Elzi, felt there should be consequences for this type of behavior.

"That's outrageous, very racist, the people who put them up should be prosecuted," he said.

Denver City Councilwoman Shontel Lewis, who was informed by constituents in her district of the signs, says this behavior isn't surprising.

"I think what stuck out to me is that they were manufactured professionally, right? Like, they look no different in terms of quality than the stop sign, or, you know, any of the other signs that you might see on your city streets," said Lewis.

The signs at first glance looked official because they had the words "City Municipal Code" in small print at the bottom. Their words also reflected the criticism from some groups that the Harris and Biden administration have received for their border policies.

According to Lewis, this may not be an isolated incident, as more signs have been discovered at other bus stops and city property in the Denver metro area.

"This is a coordinated effort that is funded by someone who actually has the means -- the financial means -- to be able to do this," said Lewis.

She says elected officials in at least two other cities have also reported seeing these signs.

"They have seen this in Chicago and they had also seen this in New York," said Lewis.

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston made a statement about the signs on X that read in part: "This type of abhorrent and racist behavior is absolutely not welcome here." Several other lawmakers and city officials made similar statements.

Jennifer Bacon, a Colorado state representative and chair of the Colorado Black Democratic Legislative Caucus, also shared a statement that said:

"People died in this country so that signs like these could never again be posted legally. No one in Colorado should ever get on the bus in the morning and have to see something like this."

RTD officials are connecting with other transit agencies across the country to further investigate the signs, which were quickly taken down after they were discovered.

Lewis believes this action is also an attack on the Democratic nominee for president.

"I spoke pretty early on my concerns that Vice President (Kamala) Harris would be subjected to some really creative racist and misogynistic behaviors from folks who have platforms and those who don't," said Lewis, "It's not lost upon me as a Black woman, at least in my experience, how often Black women have to deal with this kind of bigotry, this racism."