Religious leaders remove racist symbols

METAIRIE, La., July 3 (UPI) -- An African American Louisiana man said he hopes to gain closure by holding an interfaith service at his home to remove symbols of racism burned into his yard.

Travis Smith, 35 and his wife Kiyanna, 33, had only been living in their Metairie, La., home for a few days when someone burned the letters KKK and three crosses into their grass nearly two months ago, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported Thursday.

Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious leaders are holding the "Uproot Hate" service with friends and area residents to replace the grass in front of the couple's home Friday, the newspaper said.

"It's almost like an exorcism by the taking away of the evil or the bad that was done and hopefully replacing it with something fresh and new and good," said the Rev. Dana Krutz, executive director of the Louisiana Interchurch Conference.

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