An anti-hate rally is scheduled this weekend in Clarkesville in response to last weekend’s events in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Clarkesville resident and organizer, Virginia Webb, says the non-partisan, non-denominational rally is being held to give North Georgians an opportunity to stand in unity against bigotry and hate.
She says the deadly clash between white nationalists and opposition protesters in Charlottesville last Saturday “greatly disturbed many of us because of the number of white supremacy groups that are on the rise in America.”
That’s true, according to statistics from the national civil rights advocacy group, Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
Hate Groups in America
SPLC research shows there were 917 hate groups spread out across the U.S. in 2016 compared to 892 in 2015 and 784 in 2014. Only 457 hate groups existed in the U.S. back in 1999 and their numbers hit an all-time high of 1,018 in 2011.
SPLC says it’s now tracking more than 1,600 extremist groups across the U.S.
“We are encouraging people to come out and stand up for diversity, compassion, equal rights, and respect for one another.” ~ rally organizer, Virginia Webb
In Georgia, 32 hate groups are listed on the SPLC’s so-called ‘Hate Map’. They include the Ku Klux Klan, White Nationalists, Black Separatists, anti-LGBT organizations, Nation of Islam, anti-Muslim groups and Neo-Nazis, among others. Most of Georgia’s hate groups are based in and around the Atlanta area. The rest are spread throughout the state.
The closest hate groups to Habersham shown on the map are the KKK in Canton and East Ellijay and the Southern National Congress in the Fannin County town of Morganton.
While no hate groups are specifically listed in Habersham, Webb says the county “is not immune to these hate groups.”
Rally for tolerance
Local attorney Doug Henry is not organizing Saturday’s rally in Clarkesville but says he will be participating.
“This is a peace demonstration that we hope will be a community expression of tolerance,” Henry says. “Certainly, we hope racism and those expressions that we’ve seen in the past week, for instance in Charlottesville, are not part of our community here in Habersham County.”
“No one should be the target of injustice because of their gender, race, religion or sexual orientation,” says Webb. “We are encouraging people to come out and stand up for diversity, compassion, equal rights, and respect for one another. We want to speak in a peaceful and respectful voice that we will not stand for hate to grow and prosper here.”
Saturday’s rally is scheduled from 2-3 p.m. at the gazebo on the downtown square in Clarkesville.
Rally goers are encouraged to bring their own signs but organizers ask that the signs display only “positive messages”.
