Juneau ralliers respond to Charlottesville

It’s been two weeks since a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring 35 people. Two Virginia State Troopers lost their lives when their helicopter crashed while responding to the violence. So-called “alt-right” marchers beat counter-protesters with metal rods.

The effect of the violence was seismic: Leaders from every political party, branch of the military and faith organization condemned the armed, torch-bearing marchers and called for unity against their hate.

Community members in Juneau — at times the crowd swelled to 200 or more — attended Sunday’s “Stand in Solidarity with Charlottesville” rally at Marine Park. Leaders from the Alaska Native community, Jewish, Catholic, Mormon and Christian faiths, the Juneau Police Department, the City and Borough of Juneau, the University of Alaska Southeast and labor leaders all spoke at the rally.

Far from the epicenter of the attacks, Juneauites still felt its aftershocks.

“Let us remember that we do not stand for love, if we do not stand against hate,” said Alaska State Writer Laureate Ernestine Hayes during her remarks. “This is where I stand: I stand with Charlottesville. I stand against white supremacy.”

“We stand with you, we stand with you,” the crowd at Marine Park chanted back.

“… I stand against disproportionate incarceration. I stand against slavery and its monuments. … I stand against the accumulation of wealth and power in the hands of the few while the voiceless many suffer in poverty,” Hayes went on.

In Charlottesville, many of the “Unite the Right” marchers brandished weapons and swastikas. They were heard shouting “Jews will not replace us” during their protest.

In Juneau’s “Stand in Solidarity with Charlottesville” rally, people carried signs saying “water is life,” “solidarity” and “all men shall become brothers.” There were no counter-protestors.

Patricia Turner Custard, a member of the congregation Sukkat Shalom, a Douglas-based reform Jewish community, said that while the sight of Nazis and white supremacists marching down the streets of America is “repugnant to most,” to her congregation — many of whom are children, nieces and nephews of Holocaust survivors — it triggers a “collective memory of terror woven into our DNA.”

“Two weeks ago this happened. In America,” Turner Custard said. “But this also happened: a Navy veteran took it upon himself to stand protective watch over Beth Israel Synagog during services simply because he felt it was the right thing to do. Non-jews attended services to show solidarity. A dozen complete strangers stopped by to ask if they could stand on the front steps to support against hate as the march passed. This too happened two weeks ago, in America.”

Sherry Patterson, who at one point grabbed the mic for a sing along of “Amazing Grace,” said she turned off the TV during coverage of the Charlottesville violence. She’s heard bits and pieces of news from friends and on Facebook, but has otherwise steered clear of the news.

“Here we are again, in 2017, how can this be happening again?” Patterson said in a group conversation after the rally.

Rhonda Butler, President of the Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp 2, spoke with Patterson, the Empire and four other rally attendees after the event. Butler said the news from Charlottesville “pierced her heart,” and has inspired her to do more to combat hate in her leadership role.

“The responsibility lies on all of us,” Butler said. “It’s awakened even more of that desire to get more involved with my community. It starts with each of us and where we live. … With so many people, it’s ‘What’s one person going to do? What’s one person going to do?’ I am going to do a lot, because I want to make a better place for my children, even if it starts with my home.”

“It’s like the lyrics of the song, ‘Let there be peace on Earth,’ and let it begin with who? With me,” Patterson said.

Botelho challenged rally attendees to brainstorm ways to combat hate in Juneau. Aliza Kazmi, a Muslim woman who’s new to Juneau, said that though Juneau may feel far from Charlottesville, the hate that played out there is gaining ground and can shatter communities.

“The hateful rhetoric and the really, just ugly actions by a few can ripple through a community,” Kazmi said. “… We’re so far away, but is it really that far away from us? No, it’s not, it’s happening all over. Whether it’s just the way people are thinking, it’s happening, so we have to respond.”

Paying attention to the language we use is key, said Associate English professor Nina Chordas.

“What I can do, what I know I can do, is teach them (her students) how to analyze the words they hear, no matter who they’re coming from … are they words that can bring us together or words they can split us apart?” Chordas said.

A handful of teenagers attended the rally, including high schoolers Zach Deluca and Felicia Solomon. Solomon had first heard of the Charlottesville violence on social media network Snapchat. Deluca held a sign reading, “Obama, 3rd term.”

“I think the best thing you can do is put your word out there, not be afraid to tell people exactly how you feel,” Deluca said.

“The younger generation should get more involved with each other. We need to stand together. We need to teach it at a very young age — like, right out of the womb. That’s when you need to start teaching kids it’s not OK to do things like that,” Solomon said.

An impromptu fundraiser at the rally raised $1,200 for the Glory Hole soup kitchen and shelter.

James Alex Fields, Jr., the man who allegedly ran his car into the counter-protestors in Charlottesville, has been charged with second-degree murder, five counts of malicious wounding, three counts of aggravated malicious wounding, and one count of felony hit and run in relation to the incident. Charlottesville police have arrested several others connected to the “Unite the Right” rally for violent attacks with metal rods.