Burning cross discovered in Chicago park, police investigate

Witnesses described feeling a mix of shock, sadness, and disgust, with one Black woman, Keinika Carlton, noting that burning crosses are historically used as a tactic of violence against Black Americans. She estimated the cross was at least 6 feet tall. Another witness, Alyna Carlton, expressed that the event made her realize how close the past still feels.

Cross burnings in the U.S. have historically been recognized as symbols of hate, particularly linked to the Ku Klux Klan. A 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision, authored by the late Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, affirmed that the First Amendment permits bans on cross burnings when they are intended to intimidate, describing it as a "particularly virulent form of intimidation."