Hundreds gather in Atlanta for march against 'hate and white supremacy'
ATLANTA - Hundreds gathered in Centennial Olympic Park to rally and then march as a show of resistance to hate and white supremacy in the state of Georgia, according to the Georgia Resists Coalition.
The march is in response to what happened on Charlottesville last weekend, and is meant to renew calls to take down what the organizers call "symbols of white supremacy."
The gathering began at 6:00 p.m. and the march will end at the Martin Luther King National Historic Site.
Organizations involved in the march say their mission is to send a message to Georgia, and to America that "hate has no home here."
The Georgia Resists Coalition is asking for a peaceful march for those who participate.
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"We believe love trumps hate and Saturday's demonstration will show our solidarity against the neo-Nazis and white nationalists that clashed violently with those standing against racism, leaving courageous American Heather Hayer dead and innocents like Deandre Harris injured, along with more than a dozen others," said Janel Green, a Georgia Alliance for Social Justice Leader.
Other protests and solidarity marches have happened or are planned for Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.
"Charlottesville, like much of America, has grappled with the legacy of white supremacy, the country's continued decision to honor those who fought to keep black Americans in bondage, and the racism and violence we continue to confront on a daily basis even in cities like Atlanta," said Attorney Tiffany Roberts, Black Lives Matter Atlanta organizer.
"This effort this weekend is to make sure that Governor Nathan Deal and our representatives in Government at the state, county and municipal levels understand that hate has no sanctuary in Georgia," said Francys Johnson, Statesboro Attorney, and Pastor. "These monuments purposefully celebrate a fictional, sanitized Confederacy; ignoring the death, ignoring the enslavement, and the terror fueled by white supremacy that it actually stood for."
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Here is a list of organizers and partners involved in the march:
ORGANIZERS: American Friends Service Committee, Black Lives Matter Atlanta, Georgia Alliance for Social Justice, Georgia Moral Monday, Georgia NAACP, NAACP Atlanta, NAACP Beacon Hill, SisterCARE Alliance, SOS-Save OurSelves
PARTNERS: Association for the Study of African American Life & History (ASALH), ACLU Georgia, New Life Presbyterian, Athens for Everyone, Atlanta Grandmothers for Peace, CAIR Georgia, Compassionate Atlanta,
DREAMWeavers Atlanta, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, Feminist Women's Health Center, First Existentialist Congregation of Atlanta, GAE Retired, Gentle Spirit Christian Church, Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Georgia Coalition to End the New Jim Crow, Georgia National Organization for Women (NOW)
Georgia Peace & Justice Coalition (GPJC), Georgia Rural Urban Summit (GRUS), Georgia WAND, Human Rights Campaign Atlanta, international action center (aaic), International Rescue Committee, Juxtaposed Center for Transformation, Inc., Lawyers United for a New Atlanta, Love Under Fire Inc., Metro Atlanta, Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Monet Simon Designs, MoveOn Gwinnett, NAACP Carroll County, NAACP Clayton County, North Georgia UU Social Justice Cluster, Nuclear Watch South, Occupy Our Homes Atlanta, One Billion Rising Atlanta, Open Door Community, Organization of Dekalb Educators, Retired Progressive Democrats of America - Georgia, Racial Justice Action Center, Sierra Club, Georgia Chapter
Solutions Not Punishment Coalition (SNaPCo), Southern Anti-Racism Network (SARN), Spread The Vote, Street Groomers, Trans(forming), UniteWomen.org - GA, Virginia-Highland Church, Women on the Rise,
ZAMI NOBLA (National Organization of Black Lesbians on Aging)