From our current affairs editor Lemuel Stuart III :
This weekend marks the one-year anniversary when neo-Nazis, emboldened by the candidacy and administration of Donald Trump, terrorized Charlottesville and killed one and injured others in a violent attack on people peacefully protesting the rise of hatred in America as a result of the Right's attempts to "re-white" America. All that transpired last year was horrifying -- including Trump's post-attack support of the "very fine people" who now light the GOP's "1000 Points of Lights" with tiki-torches -- but this year, the anniversary is more emotional for some members of the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts because some of us just returned from a journey to Alabama to visit civil rights sites and to examine first hand the legacy of racism in that state. Our travelogue is HERE.
As Nazis now gather in Washington DC to pay respects to Trump (their "Unite the Right" rally is scheduled for this Sunday, August 12), the Governor of Virginia has declared a state of emergency in Charlottesville so that city officials and law enforcement agencies can take necessary actions and precautions to deal with the possible (and rumored) return of the white supremacists.
We have read with interest various articles and numerous social media posts about last year's terror and this year's coming clash, and we thought we'd post a few of them here:
Below: A member of the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts who lives in Charlottesville (and who traveled with us to Alabama) reported on Twitter that he and his wife visited the local Walmart and Lowes to suggest they take their tiki-torches off the floor this weekend.
"People of color we spoke to who worked at the stores thought this was a great idea," he said. "The only ones who seemed resistant were the white males."
The next day he tweeted an update: "The mgr of #Cville Walmart told us that tiki torches would NOT be on the floor for sale this weekend. An asst mgr at Lowes thought this was a good idea -- but said Gen'l Mgr wasn't there."
This weekend marks the one-year anniversary when neo-Nazis, emboldened by the candidacy and administration of Donald Trump, terrorized Charlottesville and killed one and injured others in a violent attack on people peacefully protesting the rise of hatred in America as a result of the Right's attempts to "re-white" America. All that transpired last year was horrifying -- including Trump's post-attack support of the "very fine people" who now light the GOP's "1000 Points of Lights" with tiki-torches -- but this year, the anniversary is more emotional for some members of the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts because some of us just returned from a journey to Alabama to visit civil rights sites and to examine first hand the legacy of racism in that state. Our travelogue is HERE.
As Nazis now gather in Washington DC to pay respects to Trump (their "Unite the Right" rally is scheduled for this Sunday, August 12), the Governor of Virginia has declared a state of emergency in Charlottesville so that city officials and law enforcement agencies can take necessary actions and precautions to deal with the possible (and rumored) return of the white supremacists.
We have read with interest various articles and numerous social media posts about last year's terror and this year's coming clash, and we thought we'd post a few of them here:
Below: A member of the Dickinson Organization of Poetry Enthusiasts who lives in Charlottesville (and who traveled with us to Alabama) reported on Twitter that he and his wife visited the local Walmart and Lowes to suggest they take their tiki-torches off the floor this weekend.
"People of color we spoke to who worked at the stores thought this was a great idea," he said. "The only ones who seemed resistant were the white males."
The next day he tweeted an update: "The mgr of #Cville Walmart told us that tiki torches would NOT be on the floor for sale this weekend. An asst mgr at Lowes thought this was a good idea -- but said Gen'l Mgr wasn't there."
 |  |
 | Left: I came across this post on Instagram today: "why are we still using both sides language." Really. Trump's statement last year about the "very fine people" on "both sides" was beyond astonishing. I will admit that I have NEVER been a Trump supporter, but a friend of mine who seemed to want to "give him a chance," gave up all support after these remarks. "He lost me," she said, "I just can't support someone who blatantly empowers white supremacists like that." Of course, I wondered why it took her so long to realize this. To be honest, at this point, any and all who support Trump are racists. There really is no other way to say it. |
| Right: I also came across this post on Instagram today: "Kids get it. They love well. Their love knows no border." Of course, this called to mind our recent trip to Alabama, and in our examination of the state's history, it became clear that the racist views of many who live there is a legacy that dates back to pre-Civil War slavery. Racists in Alabama simply pass the torch of bigotry and hatred from generation to generation -- from the days of slavery to the Jim Crow era to the current racist policies and views of Trump, the GOP, and their neo-Nazi followers. Kids are taught to hate -- and the "very fine" members of Trump's clan now feel emboldened to terrorize towns with the tiki-torches they hope to pass down to the next generation of bigots. |  |
 | At the left: One last picture from Instagram that I came across today -- just as I was getting ready o publish this post: "Glory! Laura Ingraham finally comes out of the closet...about being a full-on white supremacist." No surprise here. This is the case with many current and former Fox talking heads. Remember when womanizer Bill O'Reilly said he "couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant (in Harlem) and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black patronship." He added: "There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, 'M-Fer, I want more iced tea.'" Trump and the GOP re-write district boundaries, they re-write voter registration laws, they re-write history -- all in a hope to re-white America. Hmmm, it's as if they believe that "the America we know and love doesn't exist anymore" -- am I right, Laura Ingraham? |
By Emmett Lee Dickinson:
That Hate is all they have,
And all they have is Hate;
It's not okay, that hate should be
Just how you make us great.
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