Just days after a Confederate statue was toppled by activists in downtown Durham, NC, White Supremacists plan to rally in Durham, today at noon.
Durham City Council Member: White Supremacists Rallying in Durham at Noon
This morning, INDY reporter Sarah Willets was at the Durham County Courthouse, where she heard that Sheriff Mike Andrews had confirmed that a hate group—possibly the Klan—was going to hold a demonstration at noon.
A few minutes ago, Durham City Council member Jillian Johnson and Scott Holmes, the attorney representing the eight who were arrested for toppling a Confederate monument Monday, tweeted that it’s happening.
Several downtown retailers and county offices in the area are closing early in anticipation of the violent, hate group demonstration.
Durham, NC is also the site where students, in solidarity of the Greensboro sit in protestors, held the legendary sit in at the Durham Woolworths Store where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was present.
In the spring of 1960, these students took matters into their own hands and started a movement that spread through not only North Carolina, but throughout the entire Jim Crow South as well. Beginning with four university students in Greensboro, NC, the sit-in movement of the 1960s breathed new life into the U.S. Civil Rights Movement (see “Greensboro, NC, students sit-in for U.S. Civil Rights, 1960”).
On February 8, 1960 about twenty male and female students from North Carolina College organized their own sit-in at the Woolworth’s, S.H. Kress, and Walgreens lunch counters in downtown Durham. Inspired in part by a profound desire to integrate their own city, the protesters also held the sit-ins to demonstrate their solidarity with the Greensboro students. Within the week, sit-in protests quickly were organized in North Carolina cities such as Charlotte, Raleigh, and Fayetteville and also spread to Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and even Woolworth stores in New York City.Woolworths was the location of the 1960 sit-in.
The infamous sit-in took place at the lunch counter, and Martin Luther King, Jr. was present. This was one of the first presentations of non-violent but direct responses to segregation laws. The happening inspired portions of King's "Fill up the jails" speech that was made several days after the sit-in at Woolworths. The occurrence also helped King embrace the sit-in as a viable method of ammunition in the fight for civil rights.
Thursday, hundreds of students and activists demonstrated a similar solidarity with the protestors who toppled the Confederate statue by showing up at the Durham Sheriff’s office to be arrested.
Trumped up felony charges are now pending against 8 protestors and support in their defense continues to grow in a state known for long, hot summers.
Friday, Aug 18, 2017 · 4:29:07 PM +00:00 · igualdad
So far, the news is encouraging. Numerous progressive groups, the counter protestors to the white supremacists, seem to have a much bigger presence than the hate group’s.
Hopefully, our side will continue to outnumber them and everyone remains peaceful and safe.
Friday, Aug 18, 2017 · 6:45:57 PM +00:00 · igualdad
This is how it done: a peaceful protest where thousands show up to prevent the KKK from owning the streets of Durham.
The Durham Sheriff’s Dept issued a statement thanking the community. At this time, they have no verified reports of additional demonstrations this evening.