‘White lives matter’ protest held in Tennessee
Counterprotesters mock rallygoers, drown out speeches with music
SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. — Crowds of protesters began gathering at 8 a.m. on a cold, cloudy Saturday morning. They’d come to see Nazis. But, two hours later, there were still no Nazis.
Around 10:30 a.m., one of the organizers of the counterprotest grabbed a microphone and began taunting the handful of rallygoers who had just shown up across the street.
“Some master race,” he snickered. “Can’t even show up on time.”
Local residents and leaders spent most of the week anxiously wondering how many would travel the rural highway that snakes south from Nashville over Christmas Creek into Shelbyville for a “White Lives Matter” rally planned by several national white supremacist groups.
Such rallies have turned violent, even deadly, in recent months, sparking fears that the Shelbyville gathering could as well. Once the white supremacists showed up — the rally started about an hour late — there was yelling, but no violence.
Rally organizers had anticipated about 175 people, while Tennessee’s racial justice and liberal groups were unsure of how many of their members would attend. Ultimately it appeared that about 300 people attended — about 100 “White Lives Matter” attendees and twice as many counterprotesters.
An elaborate set of police barricades kept the white supremacists and protesters on opposite sides of the street. Police formed a line between the groups, as other officers with large weapons perched on nearby rooftops.
“This right here is what it’s all about!” declared Scott Lacey, who has spoken at White Lives Matter rallies across the country. “It’s all about the color of our skin!”
Organizers included the Nationalist Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi group; the Traditionalist Worker Party, which wants a separate white ethno-state; AntiCommunist Action, a right-wing group that believes America is being threatened by communists, and Vanguard America, a white supremacist group that believes America is inherently a white nation that must be preserved. They said the rally was specifically about immigration and refugee policies.
Rally speakers spouted verbose diatribes about a “genocide” they claim is being perpetrated against “the white race” and “white southern culture.” One speaker complained that black Americans often say the n-word, but when he does, people are offended. Another railed against Black History Month.
“What about me? Me and my children have a right to exist,” screamed another speaker who wailed into a microphone. “White lives matter!”
Throughout the morning, the counterprotest oscillated between mocking the rally and drowning it out with music.
When the rally’s speakers tried to address the crowd they were drowned out by “black lives matter” chants.
“It was an effective show of force,” said Kubby Barry, 39, who traveled with her roommate and sheepdog, Molly, who was wearing a sign that declared “farm dogs against fascism.”
“It was important to show up and show people that we don’t stand for their message,” Barry said.