WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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Organizations gathered at the Monroe County Courthouse yesterday in a show of solidarity for the victims of Saturday’s terrorist attack on counter protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia.
White supremacists gathered in the historic college town to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, calling their event the ‘Unite the Right Free Speech Rally.’
After repeated clashes with counter-protesters, an alleged white supremacist drove his car through crowds, killing one and injuring dozens.
In Bloomington, some 500 people gathered at the Monroe County courthouse to express solidarity with counterprotesters and to hold a vigil for the 32-year-old killed during the terrorist attack.
Cathi Crabtree from the National Organization for Women – Monroe County spoke at yesterday’s rally.
Crabtree said people of color should not be victimized and people should unite in support for them.
Jim Sims, president of the Monroe County Chapter of the NAACP, said the hate rhetoric used by so-called alt-right groups has become more acceptable these days due to apathy from political authorities.
Mandy Yates from the Leadership Council at the National Organization for Women – Monroe County said one of the rally speakers, Jennifer Crossley, had been a victim of racism in Bloomington.
Few people who attended the rally were themselves victims of racial slurs on Sunday night.
Yates encouraged people to acknowledge the existence of racism in our country and stressed the need to educate people about its consequences.
A sign displayed at the rally bore the quote posted on Facebook by Charlottesville victim Heather Heyer. It read : “If you are not outraged, you’re not paying attention.”
