Rally against racism at American embassy likely to draw big crowd

Hundreds of Ottawans are already rallying to join an anti-racism protest set for Tuesday at the American embassy.

By Friday afternoon, more than 750 people indicated on Facebook that they were going and more than 3,100 were interested in the noon event on Sussex Drive.

It’s billed as a peaceful protest against white supremacy and racism in solidarity with people who were harmed by “neo-Nazi” demonstrators, including a young woman who died after being mowed down by a car, in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 12.

Confirmed speakers include Alex Neve of Amnesty International Canada, Amira Elghawaby of the National Council of Canadian Muslims and Aditya Rao of the Ottawa Sanctuary City Network.

“It’s important to stand up against racism in all its forms, especially in its most virulent and detestable form — which is Nazism,” said Rao, a University of Ottawa law student, adding that Canada isn’t immune from extremism.

“The message that we’re bringing on Tuesday is a message of peace, of solidarity and tolerance — it doesn’t matter where you come from, tolerance and acceptance of folks from all backgrounds and faiths. We want to live in a community, in a society where we all respect and love one another. We want to live in a society where hate is not welcome.

“The one thing we are not willing to tolerate is the intolerance these groups preach.”

Rao said he hopes the Ottawa event won’t be disrupted by counter-demonstrators. However, he said he’d be lying if he wasn’t worried about extremists who have demonstrated south of the border they are “unafraid to walk the streets.”

Asked about the potential for clashes with counter-demonstrators, an Ottawa police spokesman said members of the force’s special event unit is aware of the event and “are monitoring at this time.”