Why the Yorktown Rally for Social Justice?

Why has the Center for Educational Rights, a nonprofit organization, decided to sponsor the Yorktown Rally for Social Justice? Why should you attend?

The notion for a rally started last fall when it became public the neo-Nazis were planning a hate rally in Valley Forge, a short hop from where my brother lives. Over breakfast, my brother's son wanted to know what they could do to counter the rally.

Say the folks over at Tolerance.org:

Do NOT attend a hate rally. Find another outlet for anger and frustration and people's desire to do something. Hold a unity rally or parade. Find a news hook, like a "hate-free zone."

Hate has a First Amendment right. Courts have routinely upheld the constitutional right of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups to hold rallies and say what they want. In 1998, for example, the American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan held 39 weekend rallies in 14 states. Communities can restrict group movements to avoid conflicts with other citizens, but hate rallies will continue. Your efforts should focus on channeling people away from rallies.

And that's what this effort is about: creating a family-friendly alternative to the hate of the Nazis and the KKK.

As Phil noted about the Valley Forge Rally for Social Justice,

Rally for Social Justice was designed as a peaceful, educational, non-confrontational, family-friendly event that celebrated diversity and promoted social tolerance within the local community, and throughout the nation as well. This evolved as a grass-roots community-based response in opposition to the announcement by the NSM (a neo-nazi organization) that they had selected Valley Forge National Historical Park as the location of their September 25th hate rally because they viewed "Valley Forge as the birthplace of White Patriotism."

And we plan the same for our efforts at Yorktown in late June. As Tolerance.org reminds us,

Every act of hatred should be met with an act of love and unity. Many communities facing a Klan rally have held alternative events at the same hour, some distance away. They have included a community picnic, a parade or unity fair with food, music, exhibits and entertainment.

These events emphasize strength in diversity and the positive aspects of the community. They also give people a safe outlet for the frustration and anger they want to vent. As a woman at a Spokane human rights rally and reggae dance put it, "Being passive is something I don't want to do. I need to make some kind of commitment to human rights."

The Rally for Social Justice is a positive alternative to the hate of the Brownshirts. Ours is a demonstration of peace, social justice, diversity, and tolerance. We hope you'll join us. Mark your calendar now.