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Racism on the rise locally; residents push back Caren Caldwell of Ashland shares a story Wednesday during an anti-racism demonstration at Vogel Plaza in Medford. Mail Tribune / Jamie Lusch Wednesday Dec 7, 2016 at 5:40 PM Dec 8, 2016 at 7:28 AM Damian Mann Mail Tribune @reporterdm On her way home after a meeting to encourage others to speak up when confronted with racism, Virginia Camberos was driving into Phoenix when a motorist pulled alongside her, flipped her off and yelled a derogatory remark about her being a Mexican. Unable to respond, the 54-year-old Phoenix resident feared the man might pull a gun on her, but she managed to get home safely just after 8 p.m. Nov. 22. "It's devastating," Camberos said. "I felt ashamed. I didn't respond. I had just told people you have a voice and don't let anyone push you around. But when that happened to me, I didn't have a voice." Camberos' encounter has become more commonplace in the valley since the presidential election, according to Unite Oregon, which supports racial justice and other social issues. The organization received 80 reports of racism in the two days after Nov. 8, twice as many as the organization typically receives in a year. "Hate has no business here," said Michelle Glass, regional director of Unite Oregon. Anti-Muslim posters have been popping up in Medford recently, and Unite Oregon held a rally in Vogel Plaza Wednesday to raise awareness about the rise in racism. About 75 people showed up for the rally, including one woman who held up a sign that stated, "No place for hate in my town." At the rally, Michelle Blum Atkinson, who ran for Medford City Council, said she personally ripped down an anti-Muslim poster near Rogue Community College. Medford police reported three known incidents where anti-Muslim posters were affixed to posts downtown. The content of the posters is not against the law, but their location on city property is. "It is a First Amendment right, but you can't put them on poles," Medford police Lt. Kevin Walruff said. Because the posters were placed in the city right of way without obtaining permission, they were removed, he said. "If we find out who's doing it, they will be cited," he said. The fine is $250. An organization known as American Vanguard, which operates in many states but has no known Oregon location, is listed on the posters. American Vanguard sent an email response to the Mail Tribune indicating the media, academia and the political establishment are all arrayed against it. "White people are starting to realize that we are being targeted, and it's about time we started standing up for ourselves and our future," the email stated. On the organization's website, it provides a manifesto that lays out its white nationalist agenda: "We fight for America, but this can never happen unless we win the hearts and minds of our fellow white youth. We want to be at the forefront of the reawakening of white racial consciousness. In order to do this, we must be willing to fight." The website has photos of various activities conducted by American Vanguard members, but their faces are blacked out. K. Tise wrote on the American Vanguard website: "You are all sick! Stay out of Southern Oregon. There is no place for you here anymore. Post a meeting and we will be there to protest your existence. And if you want to fight for something you truly believe in, show your face, cowards." Glass said the posters are part of a rise in racially motivated hate speech that is disturbing to her and other local residents. She said she's received reports of bullying in schools and of people yelling racial epithets at drivers. On a brighter note, Glass said she was encouraged when the city of Phoenix passed a resolution recently supporting a safe and welcoming community. Camberos, who works for the Northwest Forest Worker Center, said she has heard from many mothers whose children have been called derogatory names and were told they were going to be sent back to Mexico. When Camberos was young, both her parents died, leaving her as an orphan. She moved in with her grandmother in East Los Angeles, and until she was in seventh grade she thought she was a U.S. citizen. Eventually, she married an American and became a citizen. Even though she grew up in East Los Angeles, Camberos, who has four sons in the military, said this is the first time in her life that she has felt threatened because of the color of her skin. "It was very devastating, and I was heartbroken," she said. "I can't believe this happened to me." — Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm.