CNN reports from Durham, N.C.:
Three large crosses were burned in separate spots around the city during a span of just over an hour, and yellow fliers with Ku Klux Klan sayings were found at one location, police said.
The cross burnings Wednesday night marked the first time in recent memory that one of the South's most notorious symbols of racial hatred has been seen in the city.
(Mayor Bill) Bell said he couldn't recall a cross burning in Durham since he arrived in 1968. He said his office had not received any correspondence suggesting someone might target the city with cross burnings.
The handful of people who burned these crosses shouldn't completely overshadow the broader progress on race relations that has been made in the South. Still, this is deeply disturbing news, and Durham's mayor seems to agree:
"At this day and time, I thought we'd be beyond that," said Mayor Bill Bell. "People do things for different reasons, and I don't have the slightest idea why anyone would do this."
The only reason that comes to mind: someone is both bored and angry.
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