Hundreds rally to denounce racism
Pledges of support for tolerance respond to resurgence of U.S. tensions
Increasingly divisive racial tensions in the U.S. prompted close to 300 demonstrators to gather outside the American Embassy in Ottawa on Wednesday. They had a clear message: Hate and racism will not be tolerated in Canada.
The group said their goal was to promote tolerance and inclusiveness — and stand in solidarity with people harmed by neo-Nazis at a rally in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 12 that left one woman dead.
Rabbi Elizabeth Bolton, one of the Ottawa rally’s organizers, stressed that Canada isn’t immune to hate-fuelled violence. She cited the Sainte-Foy, Que., attacks in January that killed six people at a mosque, as well as the desecration of Ottawa mosques with racist graffiti.
“My message today is we do not have the option of remaining silent in the face of watching and witnessing these expressions, these violent expressions of anti-Semitism, of racism, of homophobia and of course witnessing the violence perpetrated on those communities — not just in Charlottesville, but across the United States,” Bolton said at the noon rally.
About half a dozen speakers, including representatives from Amnesty International Canada and the National Council of Canadian Muslims, encouraged the crowd to reject the bigotry that is “being spewed on the airwaves” and to rise up and speak out.
They chanted “Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here,” “Black lives matter” and “No Trump, no KKK, no fascism U.S.A.,” along with several other messages that suggested human rights are under attack and that U.S. President Donald Trump’s rhetoric has further frayed race relations.
After the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville — where 32-year-old Heather Heyer was killed when a car plowed into a crowd of people protesting the rally — Trump publicly blamed both sides for the violence, prompting outrage.
“I’m in despair. I find that Trump represents everything in the United States that I loathe, which is the reason I left it,” said Ottawa rally attendee Nathan Greenfield, a dual citizen who has lived in Canada for 40 years but was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“Republicans are running for the hills because they are worried about the mid-terms. Enough of them will run for the hills that the appropriate people in Congress and cabinet might use the 25th Amendment to remove (Trump),” he said. “Although I always say be careful what you wish for, because (Vice-President Mike) Pence might be worse.”
A man named Dan, who did not want to give his last name, wore a red T-shirt with the message “Lock Trump Up” emblazoned with black letters. He said he attended the rally because he “detests” the so-called “alt-right” movement and “everything Donald Trump is about.
“It’s all about division. I think anything that the alt-right is about, we have to challenge.”
Police officers with bicycles lined the west side of Sussex Drive to ensure traffic flow and contain the group, which rallied on the steps next to the U.S. Embassy.
The embassy issued a “security message” before the rally, which originally had 1,300 supporters who indicated they were attending on the Facebook event. However, the demonstration was peaceful — save for a lone heckler who screamed profanities from across the street during one speech.
After the hour-long rally, part of the group broke off to walk north along Sussex with their placards.
Aditya Rao, a University of Ottawa law student who spoke to the crowd on behalf of the Ottawa Sanctuary City Network, said the purpose of their efforts was to build and live in a community where citizens can live free from fear, violence, hatred and the scourge of Nazism and white supremacy.
“Standing up against racism is important. Standing up against its most violent and virulent form, which is white supremacy, is especially important. And that’s what we are here to do.”