ATLANTA– Tonight, leaders from Bend the Arc Jewish Action, Color of Change, Human Rights Campaign, and Muslim Advocates gathered to condemn the violence and to urge President Trump to condemn this white supremacy rally and the movement as a whole. To be clear: there is only one side of hate.  A video of today’s event is available here.

Brandi Collins, Campaign Director, Color of Change, said, “At Color Of Change our hearts, minds and prayers are with the people of Charlottesville and the state of Virginia. What happened in Charlottesville is an act of terrorism pure and simple. This is one all too familiar to our country’s history. We’re standing with the peaceful protesters in Charlottesville, with our 1 million members across the country and with everyone tonightheartbroken like us. Let’s work together to ensure that tomorrow we don’t continue to replicate the horrors of the past thank you.”

Jonathan Lipman, Chief Strategy Officer, Bend the Arc Jewish Action, said, “We are deeply saddened by the tragic events of the protests in Charlottesville today, and our sympathies go out to the families of those injured and killed. The events of the last two days are the inevitable result of the bigotry and hatred that Donald Trump has been championing since he began his campaign. The unmistakable pattern of the president’s support for and endorsement of white nationalism, combined with his outrageous failure to explicitly and forcefully condemn the white supremacists and neo-Nazis responsible for today’s violence, make his calls for unity disingenuous. American Jews recognize these dangerous and escalating patterns. We’ve seen this before. This hatred must stop.”

Ben Needham, Director of Project One America, Human Rights Campaign, said, “We condemn – in the strongest of terms – the racism, hatred and bigotry that is on display from white supremacist groups in Charlottesville. It is clear that all of our fights – against racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia and Islamophobia – are inextricably linked. We stand in solidarity with those whom these racists are targeting in Charlottesville and around the country. Donald Trump’s refusal to clearly condemn white supremacists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and the ‘alt-right’ is a failure of leadership and once again prove him to be unfit to serve.”

Scott Simpson, Public Advocacy Director, Muslim Advocates, said, “President Trump’s press conference and tweets today are not enough. He must take responsibility for his role in propagating white nationalist ideology and fueling their movement. We call on him to immediately denounce the white supremacy movement by name and remove those who condone white supremacy, like Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka, from the White House. Their mere presence, and their prime roles in fanning these flames of bigotry, is a silent endorsement of this violence. There is only one side of hate, vulgarity, and violence.

 

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Muslim Advocates is a national legal advocacy and educational organization that works on the frontlines of civil rights to guarantee freedom and justice for Americans of all faiths.