SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Wednesday night, marchers--singing "We are not afraid" and "We shall overcome"--offered a peaceful and hopeful alternative to the violence and hatred that was on display at the so-called "Unite the Right" rally. (Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
'Hope Not Hatred': Thousands Gather Across US in Rebuke to Trump, Neo-Nazis
"Candles instead of torches. This is Charlottesville."
Aug 17, 2017
Replacing torches with candles and hate with hope, thousands gathered across the United States Wednesday night to mourn the death of Heather Heyer and stand peacefully against the violence perpetrated by neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend.
"There seem to be way more people with candles here at UVA than there were white supremacists here Friday. Candles instead of torches. This is Charlottesville."
--Nora NeusAt the University of Virginia (UVA), the same place white supremacists rallied and chanted racist slogans, hundreds came together for an impromptu candlelight vigil, which was initially "kept secret to prevent it from becoming a media circus and, more important, to keep the white supremacists from finding out about it and potentially disrupting the event," notes The Daily Beast's Jackson Landers.
Soon, however, the scene began to blossom. What was at first a low-key ceremony quickly became a "sea of candles," Landers noted.
Those gathered for the UVA vigil--from students to high-profile politicians--marched from the campus's Nameless Field to "the Lawn," the same path walked by neo-Nazis last Friday.
"What happened on Friday night was a tragedy and we're here to take back the lawn for this student generation, all the previous, all the future generations of students who walked the Lawn," Jerry Connor, a march attendee, told CBS. "The Lawn stands for liberty, equality, justice and freedom."
Similar events were held in cities throughout the country, a mass rebuke of white supremacy and of President Donald Trump, who earlier this week took to blaming "both sides" for the violence in Charlottesville and attempted to defend those who attended the neo-Nazi rally.
New polling data indicates that the views expressed during the vigil on Wednesday are shared by most Americans. A CBS News poll released on Thursday found that most Americans disapprove of Trump's response to the white supremacist violence.
Wednesday night, marchers--singing "We are not afraid" and "We shall overcome"--offered a peaceful and hopeful alternative to the violence and hatred that was on display at the so-called "Unite the Right" rally.
"There seem to be way more people with candles here at UVA than there were white supremacists here Friday," observed CNN's Nora Neus. "Candles instead of torches. This is Charlottesville."
One observer summarized the vigil: "Candles. Not torches. Hope. Not hatred."
Watch part of the UVA procession:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Replacing torches with candles and hate with hope, thousands gathered across the United States Wednesday night to mourn the death of Heather Heyer and stand peacefully against the violence perpetrated by neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend.
"There seem to be way more people with candles here at UVA than there were white supremacists here Friday. Candles instead of torches. This is Charlottesville."
--Nora NeusAt the University of Virginia (UVA), the same place white supremacists rallied and chanted racist slogans, hundreds came together for an impromptu candlelight vigil, which was initially "kept secret to prevent it from becoming a media circus and, more important, to keep the white supremacists from finding out about it and potentially disrupting the event," notes The Daily Beast's Jackson Landers.
Soon, however, the scene began to blossom. What was at first a low-key ceremony quickly became a "sea of candles," Landers noted.
Those gathered for the UVA vigil--from students to high-profile politicians--marched from the campus's Nameless Field to "the Lawn," the same path walked by neo-Nazis last Friday.
"What happened on Friday night was a tragedy and we're here to take back the lawn for this student generation, all the previous, all the future generations of students who walked the Lawn," Jerry Connor, a march attendee, told CBS. "The Lawn stands for liberty, equality, justice and freedom."
Similar events were held in cities throughout the country, a mass rebuke of white supremacy and of President Donald Trump, who earlier this week took to blaming "both sides" for the violence in Charlottesville and attempted to defend those who attended the neo-Nazi rally.
New polling data indicates that the views expressed during the vigil on Wednesday are shared by most Americans. A CBS News poll released on Thursday found that most Americans disapprove of Trump's response to the white supremacist violence.
Wednesday night, marchers--singing "We are not afraid" and "We shall overcome"--offered a peaceful and hopeful alternative to the violence and hatred that was on display at the so-called "Unite the Right" rally.
"There seem to be way more people with candles here at UVA than there were white supremacists here Friday," observed CNN's Nora Neus. "Candles instead of torches. This is Charlottesville."
One observer summarized the vigil: "Candles. Not torches. Hope. Not hatred."
Watch part of the UVA procession:
Replacing torches with candles and hate with hope, thousands gathered across the United States Wednesday night to mourn the death of Heather Heyer and stand peacefully against the violence perpetrated by neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend.
"There seem to be way more people with candles here at UVA than there were white supremacists here Friday. Candles instead of torches. This is Charlottesville."
--Nora NeusAt the University of Virginia (UVA), the same place white supremacists rallied and chanted racist slogans, hundreds came together for an impromptu candlelight vigil, which was initially "kept secret to prevent it from becoming a media circus and, more important, to keep the white supremacists from finding out about it and potentially disrupting the event," notes The Daily Beast's Jackson Landers.
Soon, however, the scene began to blossom. What was at first a low-key ceremony quickly became a "sea of candles," Landers noted.
Those gathered for the UVA vigil--from students to high-profile politicians--marched from the campus's Nameless Field to "the Lawn," the same path walked by neo-Nazis last Friday.
"What happened on Friday night was a tragedy and we're here to take back the lawn for this student generation, all the previous, all the future generations of students who walked the Lawn," Jerry Connor, a march attendee, told CBS. "The Lawn stands for liberty, equality, justice and freedom."
Similar events were held in cities throughout the country, a mass rebuke of white supremacy and of President Donald Trump, who earlier this week took to blaming "both sides" for the violence in Charlottesville and attempted to defend those who attended the neo-Nazi rally.
New polling data indicates that the views expressed during the vigil on Wednesday are shared by most Americans. A CBS News poll released on Thursday found that most Americans disapprove of Trump's response to the white supremacist violence.
Wednesday night, marchers--singing "We are not afraid" and "We shall overcome"--offered a peaceful and hopeful alternative to the violence and hatred that was on display at the so-called "Unite the Right" rally.
"There seem to be way more people with candles here at UVA than there were white supremacists here Friday," observed CNN's Nora Neus. "Candles instead of torches. This is Charlottesville."
One observer summarized the vigil: "Candles. Not torches. Hope. Not hatred."
Watch part of the UVA procession:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.