For the past two decades, Barbara Fisher has been watching the neo-Nazi movement grow within the United States.
When Fisher heard of the attacks by white supremacy groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, this weekend, she was “completely and utterly appalled, disgusted” — but she was not surprised.
“They’ve been planning this for a long, long time,” Fisher, an Athens resident, said. “They are emboldened by President Trump’s rhetoric from the campaign trail. This is what they’ve been waiting for … a president, a leader who would tolerate them and basically turn a blind eye.”
In the wake of the attacks, over one hundred Athens residents and Ohio University students gathered in solidarity with Charlottesville victims Sunday.
Organized by United Campus Ministry, Appalachia Resist, the Southeastern Ohio LGBT Coalition, the OU LGBT Center, Showing Up for Racial Justice SE Ohio and the Athens branch of the International Socialist Organization, a rally and vigil was held on College Green to “show solidarity with the anti-white supremacy protesters in Charlottesville,” according to the event’s Facebook page.
The event was held in solidarity with counter-protesters who were attacked during a “Unite the Right” white supremacy rally in Charlottesville on Saturday. One protester was killed and at least 30 other individuals have been injured.
Among the injured is Bill Burke, a Hockingport resident who had attended the counter-protest against the white supremacist rally, according to a previous Post report. Burke, along with at least 19 other individuals, was involved in a car attack in which the driver drove into a crowd of counter-protesters.
20-year-old James Alex Fields, of Maumee, has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding and failing to stop at the scene of a crash that resulted in a death, according to the previous Post report.
During the rally and vigil in Athens, several individuals spoke and condemned the attacks in Charlottesville. Athens Mayor Steve Patterson was among the speakers, voicing his support against white nationalist groups.
“Hatred and bigotry are not welcomed here,” Patterson said in his speech.
Despite the short notice, delfin bautista, the director of OU LGBT Center, said it was inspiring to see a large crowd attending the event to show their support.
“When it comes to social justice work, I think a lot of folks feel isolated,” bautista, who uses they/them pronouns and the lowercase spelling of their name, said. “This is a moment for folks across differences to come together and to recognize that we’re not alone and that there are more of us.”
OU students Carolyn Hunter and Jaida Sterling were among the attendees.
“We’re at a point where we have to speak for the rights that we want and the rights that we deserve,” Hunter, a junior studying ceramics, said. “I hope this is a wake-up call for people.”
Many of the speakers at the rally spoke about acknowledging one’s privileges in terms of race, gender, sexuality and socio-economic class as an important step toward equality.
Sterling, a junior studying journalism, said she agreed with the speakers about “checking your privileges.”
“It’s very important because a lot of people don’t even know what privileges they have and what they could do with them,” Sterling said.
In her speech, Fisher said not acknowledging these issues is not an option.
“Now is a time where you have to choose sides,” Fisher said in her speech. “White people staying silent on these issues emboldens the racist Nazis in our midst. We need to stand up and say, ‘No, we are not like you.’”
