People protesting against racism gather in front of the White House on August 14, 2017 (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
A group of faith leaders, activists, and students say they’re marching from Charlottesville to D.C., where they will host multiple protests demanding the removal of President Donald Trump and other elected officials “who enable white supremacists” in light of the deadly rally in Charlottesville earlier this month.
The “March To Confront White Supremacy” is a 10-day trek that begins at Emancipation Park in Charlottesville on August 28 and ends in the nation’s capital on September 6.
The march is being hosted by leaders and clergy from Charlottesville, as well as organizers of Color for Change, the Movement for Black Lives, the Women’s March, United We Dream, Repairers of the Breach, and IfNotNow, among others. A Facebook event page says that 94 people have RSVPed to participate.
Organizers say in a release that they are “demanding the removal of officials who enable white supremacists, including President Trump, along with the undoing of policies that embolden and protect them.”
They are rallying in response to a “Unite The Right” protest on August 12 in Charlottesville, where white supremacists convened to challenge the removal of a statue in honor of Confederate General Robert E. Lee (similar memorials have been removed in other cities).
The evening before the event, organizers marched on University of Virginia’s campus carrying torches and chanting things like “Jews will not replace us,” and “Blood and soil,” a Nazi slogan.
During the demonstration, an alleged Nazi drove a car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others. Two Virginia State Police troopers also died in a helicopter crash while on patrol that day, and other counterprotesters were injured in fights with Unite the Right participants.
“Racism is not a new phenomenon for Charlottesville or at the University of Virginia. It is deeply rooted in the history of both the institution and the city,” said Danyelle Honore, a third-year student at UVA who will be participating in the march from Charlottesville to D.C., in the release “We’ve faced it time and time again and we’re tired. The blatant racism, violence, and terrorism that we encountered two weeks ago will not be tolerated.”
Rather than “unequivocally condemning their violence and hatred, President Trump still blames ‘both sides’ for the terror inflicted, yet again, by white supremacist groups,” the march’s organizers say.
Participants will stop at nine Virginia cities, including Manassas, Fairfax, and Falls Church and visit Confederate monuments, among other places. Once in D.C., organizers plan to launch “wave after wave of civil disobedience demanding Trump be removed from office,” according to the event website, which will track its progress during the over 100 mile march.
The march is kicking off on the same day that more than 3,000 religious leaders led by Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III descend on D.C. to honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and protest Trump’s leadership.
“Our country is in desperate need of moral leadership,” said Dr. Alvin Edwards, pastor of First African Baptist Church in Charlottesville, in the release. “We are calling on all people of faith and moral character to join us in proclaiming our uncompromising opposition to white supremacy. From Charlottesville to D.C., we must confront this ideology of hate with the power of love.”
