Charlottesville Peace and Justice
Heavily armed, torch-bearing, Confederate and Nazi flag waving, anti-Semitic white supremacists who terrorized the idyllic town of Charlottesville several times this year including the weekend of August 12, have unwittingly done our community a service. They have created greater awareness of the work we still have ahead of us for social justice and have brought our community closer together and more committed.
- Social Justice Awareness—They have reminded us that racism, sexism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are still very close to the surface across America, even in in our self-described far left-leaning college town.
- Our Community—They have strengthened the resolve and brought out the beauty, commitment, hope and love of a community in solidarity defiant against misguided miscreants driven by hatred in their hearts and covfefe in their heads.
Social Justice Awareness
The headline today in Charlottesville’s newspaperThe Daily Progress: “Police: Kessler wouldn’t follow plan” (Allison & Suarez, 2017). The story tells of how white supremacist and anti-Semitic organizer Kessler refused to follow the police security plan.
What would the story under the headline be if it read: “Police: Black man wouldn’t follow plan”?
Heather Heyer was killed and 19 others were injured when a man from Ohio drove his car into a crowd of protesters. CNN reported: Charlottesville officials: 1 dead, 19 injured aftercrashnear 'Unite the Right’ rally (Hanna, Hartung, Sayers, & Almsay, 2017). MSNBC described it as an incident (Rosenblatt, 2017).
What would the headline and coverage be if the man from Ohio were a Muslim?
We can imagine what the stories would be and how the media coverage would be different. These headlines subtly point to what the white supremacist terrorists explicitly uncover.
The terrorists clearly remind us that racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia close to the surface of the skin of American culture. White supremacy is here and now. But first, some background on Charlottesville.
Charlottesville has been described as a “a liberal and cosmopolitan university town” and a “progressive island in a conservative part of Virginia.” (Rankin, 2017) The mayor of Charlottesville even declared the city to be the “Capital of Resistance” against Trump (Quizon, 2017). The city is a recipient of many recent awards including #3 on the 15 Best Places to Live, #1 of Best College Towns in America, Top 10 Best Places to Retire, Healthiest Small Town in the US, and Top 5 New American Foodie Cities (City of Charlottesville, 2017).
Jefferson’s home Monticello overlooks the city and the university he built is the center piece of the town. In authoring the Declaration of Independence, he proclaimed “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal….” Yet, when this slave owner, penned those words, 20% of the US population was held in bondage. The paradox of Jefferson is still present in current day Charlotte hidden under the thin layer of our “progressive island.”
Even in this capital of resistance, racism is barely beneath the surface. Statistics from the Charlottesville Police show that black people account for between 70% and 80% of stop and frisk investigative detentions, but only 20% of the population. The statistics show that white people stopped are more likely to have been engaged in a crime (Suarez, 2017).
Our Community
The night before the main terrorist event, on August 11, the white supremacists marched across the UVA grounds chanting anti-Semitic slogans, some from Nazi Germany of the 1930s, and white lives matter.
A small group of students and UVA employees responded circling a statue of Thomas Jefferson on UVA grounds. They were encircled by the terrorists and several beaten. A UVA employee suffered a stroke due to blunt force trauma after being beaten with one of the torches (Ferner, 2017).
Across the street, St. Paul’s Memorial Church had pews filled and walls lined for an interdenominational service. Local and visiting clergy, community leaders and members, and other guests who came to support the community including Harvard Professor Cornell West and UVA graduate Katie Couric.
Muslim, Jewish and Christian faith leaders spoke. A minister from St. Louis, Traci Blackmon delivered a rousing sermon. She later tweeted, “They are coming for the church! Police all around. They won’t let us go outside. Y’all these KKK are marching with torches!.” One person reported, “I kept thinking of movies where the Nazis round up all the people into the church or the synagogue and blow it up,” she said. “And I kept thinking we’re all sitting here and those guys are out there” (Helm, 2017).
The next day, another faith community was terrorized. White supremacists called for the city’s lone synagogue to be burned. Congregation Beth Israel prepared for possible violence by removing their Torahs, including a Holocaust scroll. “Cale Jaffe, a University of Virginia law professor, watched as the white nationalists marched past with guns, helmets and body armor, ‘explicitly with the intent of intimidation and to create violence,’ and for the first time, ‘felt anxious about walking into his synagogue, he said’” (Finley, 2017).
The terrorist invasion of August 12 has been widely reported. The death of Heather Heyer, a young woman with a beautiful soul, and the injuring of 19 others by “an admirer of Adolph Hitler” from Ohio was the low point (Witte & Rankin, 2017). A tragedy that has outraged anyone with a soul. And yet, even from that moment springs hope.
Heather Heyer’s mother, Susan Bro, responded with love, not hate. urged mourners at a memorial service to channel their anger not into violence but into "righteous action." She asked they "make my child's death worthwhile" by confronting injustice the way she did” (Witte & Rankin, 2017).
On August 11, a white supremacist rabble bearing torches of terror defiled the hallowed grounds of UVA chanting a message of hatred. On August 21, a much larger community marching along the same route bearing candles in a vigil singing songs of love and peace. There was a feeling of cleansing the grounds of UVA and recovering the territory for the good.
I reached out to several people from Charlottesville to get their perspective on the story of our city. One young man summarized what many had said. Kibiriti Majuto, is a young man who came to our country as a refugee originally coming from war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is in his first year of college. He serves on the board of the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice. He wrote in an email:
As our brother, John Trudell once said, "No matter what they do to us, we must always act for the love of our people and the Earth. We must not react out of hatred against those who have no sense." I think that is the best message to send out at this.
There is just so much emotion on both-sides. You should include a statement or a sentence that talks about how we have crossed a bridge where we see our fellow brothers and sisters as an ideology rather than actual human beings.
…I think that there needs to more message of compassion and love in our town. I think that being violent in order to show our grief of the other side is not going to help us achieve our goal of peace and justice in our world. I believe that we have got to look at the people who be live in racism, sexism, and white supremacy, are people that are lacking a sense of community and belonging….
I think the events that happened in Charlottesville showed us that we do not only need to change policy but we also have got to shift a culture that equates whiteness with Americanness. once we have done that then we going to see a significant change in our society.
Kibiriti, Susan Bro and the clear majority of our community have called us to work for peace and healing. And, they have challenged us to examine our own hearts. We are stronger as individuals and as a community. One example is that many people in Charlottesville who are not Jewish have gone to Beth Israel to show their solidarity.
A message we can take away from this tragedy and ensuing recovery is from Susan Bro. She urged us to "find in your heart that small spark of accountability…You poke that finger at yourself like Heather would have done, and you make it happen," she said. "You take that extra step and you find a way to make a difference in the world!" (Rosenblatt, 2017).
Conclusion
It is alluring to think that maybe those on the side of love and peace should take up arms to confront the alt-right gang members carrying assault rifles, pistols, knives and other sorts of weapons. It is thoughts like those that highlight the value of Veterans For Peace. Our brothers and sisters in peace from VFP and those who came before us, have come together to realize that taking up arms is never a good idea; armed conflict brings out the worst in us no matter how good we think we are. If we want to live in peace, we must live in peace.
Dan Saint, PhD
Lifetime member Veterans For Peace
Board member of Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice
Works Cited
Allison, W., & Suarez, C. (2017, August 25). Police: Kessler wouldn't follow plan.The Daily Progress, p. 1.
City of Charlottesville. (2017, August 17).About Charlottesville.Retrieved from www.charlottesville.org: http://www.charlottesville.org/about-charlottesville/awards-and-recognitions
Ferner, M. (2017, August 16).UVA Employee Suffers Stroke After Protesting White Supremacist Rally. Retrieved from www.huffingtonpost.com: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tyler-magill-stroke-charlottesville_us_5994b2e2e4b0d0d2cc83ff58
Finley, B. (2017, August 19).Fear, resolve and more security at Charlottesville’s only synagogue. Retrieved from www.timesofisrael.com: http://www.timesofisrael.com/fear-resolve-and-more-security-at-charlottesvilles-only-synagogue/
Hanna, J., Hartung, K., Sayers, D., & Almsay, S. (2017, August 13).Virginia Governor to white nationalists: 'Go home ... Shame on you'.Retrieved from www.cnn.com: http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/12/us/charlottesville-white-nationalists-rally/index.html
Helm, J. (2017, August 19).A stark contrast inside and outside a Charlottesville church during the torch march. Retrieved from www.thewashingtonpost.com: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-stark-contrast-inside-and-outside-a-charlottesville-church-during-the-torch-march/2017/08/19/a2311a7a-847a-11e7-902a-2a9f2d808496_story.html?utm_term=.c5246214fcca
Quizon, D. (2017, January 31).The Daily Progress.Retrieved from www.dailyprogress.com: http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/politics/signer-declares-city-a-capital-of-resistance-against-trump/article_12108161-fccd-53bb-89e4-b7d5dc8494e0.html
Rankin, S. (2017, August 19).Why white nationalists chose Charlottesville — a liberal and cosmopolitan university town.Retrieved from Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-hate-came-to-the-progressive-island-of-charlottesville-2017-8
Rosenblatt, K. (2017, August 13).Mother of Charlottesville Suspect Says She Thought Rally Was About Trump, Not White Nationalism .Retrieved from www.nbcnews.com: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mother-charlottesville-suspect-says-she-thought-rally-was-about-trump-n792216
Suarez, C. (2017, August 24). Data: Racial gap in stops.The Daily Progress, p. 1.
Witte, B., & Rankin, S. (2017, August 19).Mother of Charlottesville victim Heather Heyer: Channel anger into righteous action. Retrieved from www.chicagotribune.com: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-charlottesville-heather-heyer-memorial-20170816-story.html