By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
A rally to protest surreptitious visits by the white nationalist group Identity Evropa drew about 60 people outside the Education Building on the Bowling Green State University campus.
Speakers condemned white supremacy and criticized the BGSU administration for not taking stronger action.
Those fliers are the “burning crosses of the 21st century,” Ashley Philipp, one of the organizers of the rally, said quoting Indiana University professor Charles Geyh.
Kyle Thompson addresses the rally, urging people to fight against groups such as Identity Evropa
The initial posting of the flyers, which occurred over spring break, and subsequent postings represent an attack on campus and “show how the ideology of white supremacy runs deep in this campus and in this country.”
Some postings have reportedly been booby trapped with razor blades.
Dave Kielmeyer said that was “absolutely not” the case with the flyers posted at BGSU.
On its website the group asserts: “We are a generation of awakened Europeans who have discovered that we are part of the great peoples, history, and civilizations that flowed from the European continent.” The site publicizes the group’s opposition to sanctuary cities and support for building a border wall.
City Councilor Daniel Gordon noted that Wood County had been early in the last century a hotbed of the Ku Klux Klan. “This was always here.”
Gordon said he was tired of protestors being condemned as anti-American. “The only anti-American thing I see is Fascist support, stated or understood, for our current administration.”
Anisah Hashmi, an American of Pakistani descent, said too many people believe the country has entered a “post-racial utopia.” People remember Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech, but not the speech in which he opposed the War in Vietnam and the country’s militaristic reach around the globe.
Hashmi said as a Muslim she must endure lectures from strangers about what her religion says about women. “They don’t even speak Arabic.”
Beatrice Fields urged her listeners to guard against complacency and “learn about people who can’t fight for themselves” and recognize their own privilege.
She said training for those who want to be allies to those under threat was starting late that afternoon.
She also reached out to the administration saying she’d “like to break bread” with them.
Kielmeyer issued a statement in response to the rally: “Bowling Green State University strongly condemned the white separatist group that targeted our university and the University of Toledo earlier this month. The fliers, which were posted illegally and in violation of University policy, were removed immediately.
“Our top priority is to create an environment where everyone feels safe and welcome on our campuses and to live up to our core values of showing respect for one another and supporting a culture of inclusion.
“Over the last month, members of the University’s senior leadership team have conducted listening tours with student organizations and held office hours for students to better understand their concerns. Based on those conversations, the University is in the process of finalizing a comprehensive action plan to address the concerns that have been raised and strengthen our campus climate.”
