Tuesday solidarity rally against hate and white supremacy brings out locals
The Stand As One Against Hate and White Supremacy rally brought hundreds of Birmingham residents out to Linn Park from 7 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 15, for a round of speakers followed by a peaceful march around the perimeters of the park.
Greater Birmingham Ministries convened with the Stand As One Alabama coalition to put on the rally in response to the violent "Unite the Right" white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, Aug. 12, where a 20-year-old white man drove through a crowd of counter protestors with his car and caused a dozen injuries and the death of a woman. The Unite the White Rally was protesting the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Khaula Hadeed, executive director of the Alabama chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), was one of the many speakers at the rally.
"Hatred must stop, bigotry must stop, racism must stop," Hadeed said. "We need strong moral leadership... this America of ours is full of love, acceptance and respect. It sees beyond black and white, and judge people on their moral character."
A few hundred people stood listening to the speakers and holding up signs.
"Let us say to them that we won't let anyone repeat the tragic history," Hadeed said. "I believe deeply it is our moral obligation of my time and generation that if our elders cannot bring us together than we must. If our leaders cannot lead us to be a more united people, than we must."
Angie Wright, the associate director at Greater Birmingham Ministries and one of the event organizers, said they brought a diverse line of speakers to the rally to encourage people from different communities to know each other and show up for each other.
She said that the Greater Birmingham Ministries supports, protects and uplifts the communities in Birmingham that have been threatened, including Muslim, Jewish, LGBT and other groups that are "in the line of fire right now," Wright said.
"We were wanting to bring people together from all walks of life, all quarters of the community," Wright said. "We want people to hear from each other because we are a very segregated city. So it was an opportunity for people to hear the experience of people from these different communities and also to share their support."
Other speakers included Rev. J. R. Finley, pastor at Covenant Community United Church of Christ; Joyce White Vance, professor at University of Alabama law school and former U.S. attorney; Asa Williams, a high schooler and poet from Pleasant Grove, Alabama; Rev. Geraldine Adams Daniels, pasture of Southside Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; Max Micheal, member of jewish community and professor at the UAB School of Public Health; Sarai Portillo, executive director of the labama Coalition of Immigrant Justice; Rabbi Laila Haas from Temple Emanu-El; and Scott Douglas, executive director of Greater Birmingham Ministries.
Wright said she was not surprised at the number of people that showed up Monday night despite the minute notice.
"I knew that people were hurting, and in a time like that, people want to come together and give a show of support through each other, and just say this is who we are. We are about love, dignity of all people and protecting each other," she said.
There was also a rally on Sunday night in Five Points South, organized by Black Lives Matter. Wright said that the Monday night Stand as One Against Hate & White Supremacy rally was a way to build on that momentum from Sunday, and for people to be able to attend who weren't able to go Sunday night.
Writght said all similar rallies have been peaceful in recent years.
"Right now there was a real yearning in the community to say that this is not who we are, this is not what we believe our country is about," she said.
If people want to get more involved, Wright encourages them to sign up for text alerts by texting STANDASONE to 313131. Wright also said the text alert it not to announce meetings.
"If an emergency happens in communities or an event happens over night, it's a way to keep people informed or connected," she said.
At the Birmingham City Council meeting earlier Tuesday morning, Mayor William Bell and City Council President Johnathan Austin agreed that there should be no monuments of the Confederacy in the city’s parks, following the violence and controversy in Charlottesville.
They went on to argue about how to remove the statue, since a new law, the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act of 2017, signed by Gov. Kay Ivey in May prohibits local governments from the removal, renaming or alteration of monuments or architecturally significant buildings that have been located on public property for 40 or more years. The law also created the Committee on Alabama Monument Protection, which deals with waivers for modifications or changes of these monuments or buildings. If local officials don't go through the committee, they are fined for $25,000 per violation.
Later that night at 10 p.m., as per the official order by Bell, city workers covered the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Linn Park with wooden boards while Birmingham officials take time to decide how to legally remove it. The monument stands at the entrance of Linn park and was given to the city in 1905, according to Bhamwiki.
If you want to learn more about Stand as One Alabama or have any questions, contact Wright at 326-6821 or angie@gbm.org. For more information Stand As One Alabama, visit their Facebook @standasoneal.