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Tuesday, 22 August 2006 19:02 |
In response to racist fliers circulated in Asheville last month, a rally was held Aug. 17 to celebrate diversity and unity.
"When we see things that arenët right, letës work for a change," Mayor Terry Bellamy told the rally. "No longer can we give lip service to racism issues."
The flyers, which contained racial slurs and threats, were found scattered along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. They alleged that a group of African-Americans had attacked white people during the Bele Chere Festival.
Gathered
in the outfield of Martin Luther King Jr. Park, community leaders
denounced the flyers and spoke of uniting the community.
"In the year
2006, I thought weëd got rid of all the stupid people whoëd do
something like this," said Buncombe County Commissioner David Gannt.
"Itës happening ÇƒÓ itës still out there."
The rally,
which was sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr. Association of
Asheville and Buncombe County, attracted more than 200 people. The
event was launched with music and a pep talk from organizer Orlene
Simmons.
"This is a rally
now, so you have to conduct yourself as if youëre at a rally," she told
the decidedly tame crowd. "If youëre here to stand up against racism ǃÓ
stand up!"
After another tune from the band ÇƒÓ with the appropriate recurring chorus of "stand up" ÇƒÓ Simmons
introduced the mayor.
"She is an African-American," Simmons said. "And she also hurts."
Bellamy then took to the stage and urged the crowd to work towards better race relations.
"The goal tonight should be to get you sparked up for change in the community," she said.
"We have a lot of individual lights," Bellamy said. "Itës time we bring those lights together."
A key theme of
the evening was involving and mentoring youth. Unlike youth in previous
decades, Bellamy explained, todayës young people are not plugged into
race issues.
"Weëre missing a generation," the mayor said, scanning the crowd. "Look around."
Of those
attending the rally, most were more than 30 years old ÇƒÓ many of them
old enough to remember the beginnings of the civil rights movement.
In addition to
educating the youth, speakers also spoke of proactively combating the
mindset that sometimes culminates in incidents such as the Bele Chere
fliers.
"Anything that
is a hate crime, you can rest assured that weëll put our full resources
into prosecuting that," Asheville Police Chief Bill Hogan told the
crowd.
Invoking 1940s
Nazi Germany, Americaës internment of Japanese-Americans during World
War II and Mel Gibson, Gantt said racial hatred must be dealt with
head-on, or else society risks the dangers of denial.
"At this point,
you have to have zero-tolerance of racism," he said. "Youëve got to
speak out forcefully. Itës just not good enough to sweep it under the
rug."
Beyond the legal
front against hate crimes, the mayor urged the crowd to rally together
and ÇƒÓ attributing the phrase to Gandhi ÇƒÓ "be the change."
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