One day after neo-Nazis marched through Columbus, Ohio, with Nazi flags in hand and yelling white nationalist and racist epithets, a group of Black leaders and residents marched across the city on Sunday in a unification rally.
The senior pastor of Columbus Union Grove Baptist Church, the Rev. Derrick Holmes, reported that as people carried black flags with swastikas on them and strolled down North High Street wearing complete black and red masks, he received frantic calls from his flock. They marched through the Short North Arts District of the state capital, shouting racist cries like “Bow down” and “[N-word]’.
According to Holmes, two members were in the Short North region at the time, and dread was the main emotion there. A sense of melancholy prevailed. Since they are older, it brought up memories of a period of time they believed the nation had moved past.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates stated that Nazism is antagonistic to all that the United States stands for, while President Joe Biden denounced the march.In remarks and on social media, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, and other local officials denounced the neo-Nazis.
Holmes and other Black residents, however, stated that they wanted to do more and convey a message of support. Holmes, lawyer Sean Walton Jr., and other neighbors joined the counter-rally on Sunday afternoon, along with the 100 Black males of Central Ohio, a service organization that trains young Black males.
Numerous males wearing all-black clothing strolled down North High Street, many of them side by side. They shook hands, smiled at one other, and were mostly silent. The group was headed by Walton and Brian Winston, president of 100 Black Men of Central Ohio, and at the conclusion of the march, they all stood for pictures with their fists up.
According to Winston, who called on Walton to assist in planning the event, it was essentially simply getting Black males together so that our Black women, children, and anybody else who was afraid or scared of what they witnessed could be redirected with love and togetherness.
Walton claimed that when he heard about the neo-Nazi march, he was in Houston for the weekend and hurried home to see how his wife and kids were doing. According to him, there was a general feeling of fear and concern among Black Columbus residents, with many of them questioning if they were safe in the city. He claimed that the march on Sunday, however, lessened some of the hopelessness.
According to Walton, “I believe there was a lot of focus on the fear.” The entire weekend was altered by what we did on Sunday. This has, if anything, strengthened us. In a way, I believe it served as a test of our ability to unite when our civil rights, human rights, and way of life are threatened.
In a statement shared on social media on Monday, Columbus police stated that although they had received complaints regarding the neo-Nazi protest, there was insufficient evidence to file criminal charges. They claimed that although there was evidence of pepper spray being used, there was insufficient probable cause to warrant any arrests. According to them, the incident is still being investigated.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by the Columbus Division of Police. In the statement, Chief Elaine R. Bryant stated that law enforcement must defend constitutionally protected acts, regardless of how cruel they may be. No one in our community should be subjected to harassment or intimidation, she continued. We’ll keep working to provide a safe and welcoming environment for all Columbus citizens.
According to Holmes, Winston, and Walton, Donald Trump’s rhetoric and the results of the presidential election have fueled neo-Nazi activity. To the surprise of the actors and audience, demonstrators waved Nazi flags outside a community performance of The Diary of Anne Frank in Michigan earlier this month.
In recent months, far-right organizations have garnered media attention in Ohio. The false narrative that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were stealing and consuming dogs was attributed to a white supremacist activist in Springfield and was repeated by Trump at campaign rallies and the presidential debate. According to the police, the assertion was unsupported by any proof.
According to studies that have connected Trump’s remarks against racial and ethnic minorities to hate crimes, vigilantism, and other incidents, right-wing extremism has sharply grown since 2016. According to the Washington Post, right-wing conspiracy theorists, Christian supremacists, white nationalists, and Proud Boys applauded Trump’s victory after the election and claimed it was a success for their extreme views of America. Following the death of a counterprotester at a white supremacist event in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, Trump claimed that there were good people on both sides.
Trump has denied claims that he has promoted extremism or that fascists and Nazis are among his fans. According to a statement released last month by his campaign press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, President Trump has the support of Latinos, Black voters, union members, angel moms, law enforcement, border patrol personnel, and Americans of all faiths.
According to Oren Segal, vice president of the Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism, Hate Club, a group located in St. Louis, claimed responsibility for the Columbus march, as reported by The New York Times.
In an interview, Jon Lewis, a research researcher in the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, stated that although these organizations go by different names, they all adhere to white nationalist principles.
“I think the best way to describe it is emboldening,” Lewis added. White supremacists and neo-Nazis are becoming more and more confident that they can act without consequence and that they may gather in the streets of cities and towns all over the nation to sow fear and hatred among communities that are predominately nonwhite.
Ultimately, the issue here is one of inciting hatred and fear. The purpose of these organizations is to create a sense of insecurity among the typical non-white American.
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