By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The crowd rallying in Wooster Green Sunday afternoon was determined to not mince words about the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, this weekend.
“These are actually Nazis in America in 2017,” said Daniel Gordon, who helped organize the rally to support the people of Charlottesville
And they are members of the KKK, who don’t feel the need to wear hoods because they have the support of President Donald Trump, Gordon said.
“We are angry. We are sickened and heartbroken about what has happened,” Gordon, a Bowling Green council member, said. “This is what domestic terrorism looks like.”
The impromptu rally – which was put together in less than a day and while BGSU students are still on summer break – drew a crowd of about 125. The citizens carried signs saying, “Racism is Not History Yet” and “Hate Doesn’t Make America Great.”
Rally on Sunday afternoon
The people spouting hatred in Charlottesville were not patriots, Gordon said. “These people showed up in Nazi uniforms and shirts with Hitler quotes on them, with Nazi flags, chanting Nazi slogans, giving the Nazi salute.”
One of the men supporting the Nazi group is charged with driving his car through a crowd protesting against the hatred. The driver, James Fields from Maumee, is charged with killing a 32-year-old woman and injuring many more. And two state troopers were killed when their helicopter crashed as they were trying to monitor the clashes.
But in the national’s capital, Trump did not condemn the Nazis, and instead chose to draw a moral equivalence between the Nazis and those protesting against them, Gordon said.
“So let’s rise to meet the demands of the moment. Let’s call evil by its name. Let’s connect the dots to show that the through line for these traitors goes straight to their enablers in Washington, D.C., and, yes, in states and cities across the country,” Gordon said.
This was the fourth time the community has gathered on Wooster Green – the others to protest the Muslim ban, deportations, and the shootings at the gay nightclub in Orlando.
“We’ve had to come up here three times just to talk about bad incidents,” Council member Sandy Rowland said.
And though Bowling Green is more than 500 miles from Charlottesville, it shares some of the issues. The Neo-Nazi literature spread on the BGSU campus earlier this year came from the same group represented in Charlottesville, Gordon said.
“It’s up to us to show that Bowling Green is better than this,” he said, acknowledging that some people in the city see no reason for the rallies.
“When we are silent, we are complicit,” he said.
Crowd numbered about 125
Gordon asked for people of color to speak to the crowd gathered.
“I’m a person of color,” Bea Fields said. As such, she feels like she has a bulls-eye on her skin.
“The closest thing you get to being profiled by police is through a viral video,” she said to the primarily white crowd. Fields said it’s up to white to help carry the weight in this battle, “or wait long enough to carry our coffins.”
“Don’t study us, befriend us, so maybe you can be better at defending us,” Fields said.
Allie Dyer also took the microphone.
“I’m an angry black woman,” she said, begging for humanity. “We’ve been doing that for hundreds of years.”
While white people may have been shocked by the violence this weekend in Charlottesville, Dyer was not. “This is something that happens every day. We know we will live and die in racism.”
Julian Mack then spoke and stirred up the crowd.
“That was a direct attack on people like you and me,” he said. “I can’t believe I’m having to say this stuff right now. We already went to war for this. We’re going to win this one, too.”
Mack criticized Trump for not putting the blame for the violence on the white supremacists and Nazis.
“They have been given carte blanche under the Trump presidency,” he said. “It’s not OK. We all know this shouldn’t be a thing anymore.”
Mack urged the crowd to stand up to racism.
“It is unacceptable to make a decision to do nothing,” he said. Soon the crowd was chanting, “Don’t just stand there – do something.”
Bea Fields speaks during rally.
Some in the crowd were already taking action. Karen Wood said she was recently dismayed to see confederate flags on display and sold at the Wood County Fair.
“I was shocked at the number of confederate flags,” Wood said. “We’re Charlottesville, we just haven’t had a car drive through at crowd yet.”
Wood encouraged others to write letters to the Wood County Fair Board, asking them to ban the confederate flags on the fairgrounds.
“I refuse to get used to it,” she said. “If they’re not banning confederate flags, they are condoning them.”
History teacher Joe Boyle said the nation needs to own its role in slavery. He said it “chafes” him every time he sees a confederate flag. Though he loves history, he suggested people seek out true historic heroes – those who found against slavery in the Civil War and against the Nazis in World War II.
“The heroes we need are among us,” he said, listing off soldiers from Wood County who played roles in fighting racism in both wars.
Debbie Dalke reminded the crowd of the two KKK rallies held in Bowling Green in the last couple decades. “If you’re thinking it can’t happen here, you are wrong,” she said.
Gordon stressed that Bowling Green must have zero tolerance to hate crimes.
“Ultimately, it’s up to us to fight for freedom. It’s up to us to fight for our nation,” he said.
Organizations offered their support. Julie Broadwell, of Not In Our Town Bowling Green, said the organization’s goal is to “Stop Hate Together.” And Rev. Mary Jane Saunders, of the city’s human relations commission, asked BGSU students to talk about problems. “It’s your city, too. Please talk to us. We care about you.”
The crowd was full of people ready to get involved.
“I’m here to lend support to the people of Charlottesville,” Janet Parks said.
“I think it’s really important the whole country gets involved,” Linda Schneider said, noting that Trump has not shown a willingness to address the hatred. “If he won’t do it, we need to.”
Brian Matthews said he worries about the growing presence of racism and fascism in the U.S. “I see that momentum in this country getting bigger,” he said. “I think it’s important to stand against it.”
Linda Lander was horrified as she watched the violence in Charlottesville. “I was so concerned about what had happened,” she said. “All of these rallies show the majority of people do not agree with this. It’s important the voice of more inclusive American is heard. We can’t be silent.”
