Vigils in Durham, Orange and Chatham counties today to protest ‘white supremacist hatred’ in Charlottesville

Community members will gather in in Durham, Orange and Chatham counties Sunday, Aug. 13 to hold vigils for racial justice and equality and to protest this weekend’s white supremacist demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“Indifference in the face of this kind of bigoted terrorism is not an option,” Eleanor Wertman of Indivisibull Durham said in a news release. “We will gather to support each other in our continued fight against white supremacy.”

The vigil begins at 6 p.m. at CCB Plaza, 237 Corcoran St., in downtown Durham to demand that elected leaders condemn “the racist views espoused by Unite the Right participants, and publicly commit ourselves to resisting the cancer of white supremacy,” the release said.

The vigil is sponsored by groups including Durham for Organizing Action, Indivisibull Durham, IndivisiblesNC – District 1, Protecting Progress in Durham, Triangle Indivisible Daily Call to Action, Tuesdays with Tillis, and Together We Will North Carolina.

The Bull City Hip Hop Youth Ambassadors are holding a vigil from 5 to 6 p.m. at East End Park, 1200 N. Alston Ave., near the tennis courts, in Durham.

“The vigil is in response the atrocities occurring in Charlottesville, VA,” Bull City Hip Hop Youth Ambassadors representative Sandra Davis said in an email Sunday afternoon. “Many of our inner city youth have expressed their fear, frustration, disappointment and anger. This will give our inner city youth and community the opportunity to express themselves in a safe and supportive environment. This is a positive outlet for the community to band together and vent their emotions.

In Orange County, events will begin at 6 p.m. in Carrboro and Hillsborough and a “Solidarity with Charlottesville” event will begin at 7 p.m. at the Silent Sam Confederate monument on the UNC Chapel Hill campus.

“We will gather at Silent Sam, Chapel Hill’s own despicable Confederate monument, to show solidarity to those who stood up to fascism in Charlottesville this weekend, to mourn the death of the person murdered by fascists in Charlottesville today and to emphasize our own tireless commitment to fighting tyranny of all kinds,” the event page read.

Additional events, In Support of Humanity in Charlottesville will beheld at 6 p.m. outside Carrboro Town Hall, 301 W. Main St. and “Orange County Stands Against White Supremacy” will be held at the Old Courthouse on King Street in Hillsborough at 6 p.m.

In Pittsboro, a Chatham County Vigil for Peace was scheduled to be held at 3 p.m. at the Historic Courthouse.

“The gathering of white supremacists in Charlottesville this weekend was a terrible display of bigotry and hate that has simmered just below the surface for decades, but has been unleashed anew as racism and bigotry have found homes in the highest levels of government,” the page for the Hillsborough event read. “Let’s stand together as a community to stand in solidarity with Charlottesville, mourn the life of the woman killed when protesters were run down, and say ‘no’ to white supremacy.”

Over the weekend, hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and Ku Klux Klan members gathered in Charlottesville for a “Unite the Right” rally and to protest the removal of Confederate statues.

This weekend’s activities come amid a months-long community discussions in Orange County about Confederate symbols and statues.

For most of the year the Orange County Schools has been debating whether to ban the Confederate flag from student clothing and on school property. Parent Latarndra Strong and others formed the Hate Free Schools Coalition after she saw a Confederate battle flag displayed three days in a row in a student’s truck at Orange High School.

This story was originally published August 13, 2017 at 2:57 PM with the headline "Vigils in Durham, Orange and Chatham counties today to protest ‘white supremacist hatred’ in Charlottesville."