Diversity director to ‘double down’ on fighting racism since graffiti

ELIZABETHTOWN — Nicole Hylton-Patterson says she is a fighter ready
to “double down” against racism.

Confronted by racist graffiti in Saranac Lake painted on a railroad trestle
bridge — which she believes was targeted toward her, one of the village’s
few Black residents — the Adirondack Diversity Initiative director decided
last month that she would relocate elsewhere. The experience
was “egregious, hurtful, painful and traumatic,” she said — but it did
nothing to deter her from her mission to help diversify the Adirondack Park
and make it a more welcoming place for everyone.