Laundry is the only thing that should be separated by colours.
Those were the words on the sign that seven-year-old Alexandro Gomez-Balcazar brought to an Aug. 17 antiracism demonstration in Moody Park attended by more than 120 people. Local residents organized the gathering in response to violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white nationalists, neo-Nazis and white supremists gathered for a Unite the Right march on Aug. 12 and clashed with counter-protesters, resulting in the death of one anti-racism protester.
“These events are not about us white folk feeling good about ourselves, and knowing that we are not racist,” said Jen Ryan, lead organizer of the event. “A quote I share today from Angela Davis: ‘In a racist society, it is not enough to be nonracist, we need to be antiracist.’ Think about it, talk about it, have discussions with your questionable Thanksgiving relatives. Talk with your friends. Keep it at the forefront of your mind. Let’s not wait till tragedy strikes before we have another event.”
Organizers of the New West United event hope it will lead to future events that aren’t held in response to negative incidents. In January, New Westminster MLA Judy Darcy organized a New West United rally after neo-Nazi pamphlets were posted in the city.
“We know in New Westminster we stand up against racism and intolerance. We stand up against sexism. We stand up against homophobia and transphobia. We stand up against anti-Semitism and islamophobia. In New Westminster, we stand up against hate,” said New Westminster-Burnaby MP Peter Julian. “All of you are indicative of that very strong solidarity that we have in our community.”
Julian said he was appalled by the violence and the explicit racism of Charlottesville and the subsequent comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, but is optimistic because of the hundreds of events held across Canada and the United States in the wake of the violence in Charlottesville. He noted a tweet by former U.S. President Barack Obama quoting Nelson Mandela ("No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion...") was retweeted more than any other post on Twitter in history.
“One must be taught to hate. And if somebody can be taught to hate, they can learn to love. … Love comes more naturally than hate. That’s what makes me optimistic,” Julian said. “That’s the kind of thing I think we all need to take forward as we move in solidarity, to push back hate in our community, in our province, our country, and right across this continent.”
Brynn Bourke, one of the organizers of the New West United event in January, said she is inspired by the way the Pride movement took something hateful and responded by creating a celebration that embraces diversity. She’d like to see New West United come together and grow a movement that celebrates diversity and helps build community.
A resident who was born and raised in South Africa during Apartheid said “racism is a very tricky thing to handle” but it’s worth fighting for a place where people feel free.
A woman told the crowd that her grandmother, one of 10 children who grew up in Germany and Austria, had a brother in the Nazi party and a sister who died at a concentration camp for hiding Jews during the war.
“I have always been fascinated how two dichotomies can exist in the same family. I do know once when I was about 13, someone said something nasty to her because she still had a German accent and she was very upset,” she said. “I remember her always telling me: ‘We are all people - if you can only do one thing, be kind.’ I think if we each are kind, it’s small, but it can make a big difference.”
Mayor Jonathan Cote, who majored in history in university, said he couldn’t imagine how “past atrocities” could be happening again, but there are similarities with what’s happening south of the border.
“Really, the only way to stop hatred, to stop bigotry is to not be silent on the issue,” he said. “When you become silent, that is when that kind of hatred becomes normal. We cannot allow that type of behaviour to become normal.”
