Charlottesville is bracing for a Ku Klux Klan rally tomorrow. The KKK permit was for one hundred participants, but with spectators, police say as many as 800 people could be in Justice Park.
Charlottesville’s Mayor says the public will be safe during the KKK event:
“We will not allow violence in our streets, and we will act swiftly and strongly against anyone who threatens the rule of law here.”
But Mike Signer is urging the public to ignore the Klan and its hateful views.
“They’re already in the trash bin of history, but the thing about garbage is while it can fester in the darkness, with exposure to light and oxygen, it disintegrates into fertilizer. In other words, we can make this into an opportunity. By letting this group become a pathetic sideshow, this will become a teachable moment.”
Police Chief Al Thomas says security cameras have been installed, and he’ll have support from university, county and state police, but he joins Signer and University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan in asking people to stay away.
“My advice is simple. Stay home. Don’t take the bait. Please be mindful that extremists are not persuaded with calm reasoning or shouting.”
The city has organized a number of cultural events that residents can attend instead, but local photographer and documentarian Eze Amos, who came here from Nigeria nine years ago, says he wants to witness the rally with his camera.
“This is home for me. I have a five-year-old daughter. Something this significant. Something that might affect the future of this city, I don’t want to be home and hear about it.”
And at least one group has vowed to confront the Klan with a so-called Block Party, spelled with three K’s. They argue that ignoring the Klan allowed it to grow and terrorize people in the past.
