Dear Friend,
On Tuesday, President Trump went off the rails in defense of participants in the “Unite the Right” protest that shook Charlottesville and America to the core. Not only did he blame the “bad people” on both sides for the mayhem in Charlottesville, he also said to reporters, “You also had people that were ‘very fine’ people on both sides… that were there to protest the taking down of… a very, very important statue.” What better way to stir the cauldron of Klansmen, neo-Nazi skinheads, fascist anti-Semites, and other white supremacists planning their next moves against Americans?
We at the American Humanist Association (AHA) are appalled by President Trump’s blatant defense of these groups. We defy the inconsistent and compromising stance of this administration regarding racism and white supremacy and call on all humanists to act now!
- Petition Mayor Mike Signer and Councilwoman Kathy Galvin to change their votes against removing the Robert E. Lee statue and to also remove all other confederate monuments, as a sign that they support community safety and reconciliation: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/remove-charlottesville-statues.
- Act locally. Attend protests. Support the removal of all confederate monuments from public spaces: http://act.indivisibleguide.com/event/stand-in-solidarity-with-charlottesville/search/
- Organize a canvass to talk to people on their doorsteps about what is happening and bring them into the movement for racial justice. Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) has a toolkit that will help you get started.
No real social change has ever been brought about without action—which is the realization of our values. White supremacy ideology defies the Humanist Manifesto III and all we stand for. We must offer a strong and active response.
Sincerely,
Roy Speckhardt
Executive Director