Residents have ‘no home for hate’

Crowd gathers in support for, solidarity with Charlottesville, Va.

POTTSTOWN » “Hate has no home in this community.”

That was the response Pottstown gave to the events that occurred last weekend in Charlottesville, Va., Heather Heyer, 32, was killed Saturday and 19 people were injured when a car plowed into a group of counter-protesters who’d gathered to oppose a rally by white nationalists and others who oppose a plan to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a Charlottesville park.

Having watched the events unfold over the weekend, hundreds showed up in Smith Family Plaza Thursday evening for a vigil to show their support for and solidarity with Charlottesville. The vigil was hosted by the Pottstown YWCA and the local NAACP.

“We planned a vigil to show the people in Charlottesville and in this community that we stand in unity against hate, against white supremacy, that we are really here to show our compassion and solidarity for the people in Charlottesville,” said Stacey Woodland,

executive director of the YWCA Tri-County Area. “We’re here also, both the YW and the NAACP, to say that we’re here to give you some help, guidance and support. We welcome anyone to come and talk with us and start to figure out how we can support the continuous, consistent promotion of peace, justice, freedom and dignity for everybody, not just some people.”

Crowds began to descend upon the park as early 5:30 p.m. Thursday, many carrying signs and other items that displayed messages of love and support for Charlottesville and the Pottstown community.

“Every time I turn on the TV or open up a newspaper I see some sort of tragedy and I’m tired of seeing the pain, the hurt, the destruction, the death and the hate. I don’t know where it’s coming from and I don’t know why it keeps getting magnified. Every time you turn around you see something else, like today in Spain. Someone took a van and just ran into people. Why are people doing that,” said Johnny Corson, president of the Pottstown Chapter of the NAACP.

“And I figured I’d help organize this tonight to bring people together to show that everybody is not like that. So people can stop being afraid of each other, get to know each other, maybe reach across and introduce themselves to someone they haven’t seen tonight. Maybe they can do that. Go out for a cup of coffee. If we start uniting more, it’s hard to beat us when we’re united,” he said.

In addition to community members, several public officials came to make their views known on the subject. Among them were Pottstown Mayor Sharon Valentine Thomas, Pottstown Police Chief Richard Drumheller and Montgomery County Commissioners Chairwoman Val Arkoosh.

“One of the things I want to talk about is hate,” said Drumheller. “You wonder where hate comes from. Well, in your community every day they sow the seeds of hate. The police are in that community pulling those weeds out and it can be anything. But I ask you and anybody here to guard your heart against that ... Today we want to stand elbow to elbow, arm to arm and we want to combat racism, hatred and any of those events that affect our community.”

Area Congressman Ryan Costello, R-6th Dist., was unable to attend due to a previously scheduled town hall in Lebanon County, but showed his support for the vigil by issuing a statement: “I stand with you in Pottstown tonight to raise our voice in unison and peace to say that hate, bigotry and violence have no place in our community.”

Following remarks from Pottstown and county officials, the floor was open to the community.

“I think it’s really important that it’s not just people of color who gather in unity with Charlottesville. It wasn’t just people of color who were the anti-protestors in Charlottesville and it isn’t an issue that only affects people of color. It affects every American citizen and it’s important to look for ways to be engaged and be against hate, hate speech and hate activity,” added Woodland.

“Hopefully this will make people realize that Pottstown’s not like that. Pottstown’s not like what happened in Virginia. Pottstown’s not like what happened in Spain. We’re different. We’re above that. We’re better than that,” said Corson.

MARIAN DENNIS — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Attendees at the Pottstown vigil for Charlottesville embraced as the crowd sang a rendition of “We Shall Overcome.”

MARIAN DENNIS — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Attendees at a vigil for Charlottesville that was held in Smith Family Plaza Thursday hang their heads in a moment of silence to remember the victims in Charlottesville.

MARIAN DENNIS — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Residents showed up in crowds Thursday evening with signs in support of Charlottesville. The vigil was meant to show that the Pottstown community will not stand for racism or bigotry.

MARIAN DENNIS — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Signs like these could be seen scattered all over Smith Family Plaza Thursday night during a vigil that was held to honor the victims of Charlottesville. The vigil further sought to show solidarity with the city following last weekend’s attack.

MARIAN DENNIS — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Community members gathered in Smith Family Plaza Thursday to make their voices heard about hate in their communities. Following the events in Charlottesville over the weekend, residents gathered to show solidarity with the city.

MARIAN DENNIS — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA As groups showed up for the vigil Thursday night, attendees lined up at tables to sign a petition denouncing racism and hate.

MARIAN DENNIS — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Pottstown Police Chief Richard Drumheller took a few minutes Thursday to speak during a vigil held in Pottstown for the victims of Charlottesville.

MARIAN DENNIS — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Rosemary Woodland, a retired Pottsgrove School District teacher and original Freedom Rider, was met with applause Thursday evening as she shared some of her experiences and expressed hope for the future.