The following is the speech given at the Unity Rally by Kate Mellon-Anibaba
In Charlottesville this week we got to see obvious racism, the kind that is so blatant that it alerts all your senses to its pure evil, and makes us sick to our stomachs.
The images of white men holding torches, spewing hate and physically hurting people… this is easy to denounce and separate ourselves from… we are the “good” white people, right?
We have diverse friendships…
We have people of color for family members…
We don’t care if people are black, brown, white or purple…
We may have even birthed black and brown children from our wombs…
But saying these kinds of things are problematic, it has to STOP!!!!!!
Why, you may ask?
Because these are the very things that fuel the fire of white supremacy and keep us complacent… where we can be horrified and then go about our lives unaffected and reassured.
The reality is that we have an obligation to do work here in this community and surrounding areas.
We need to have the tough conversations with other white people, we need to burn bridges with friends and family who still want to give Trump a chance and we need to show up for
people of color in our own communities who are experiencing trauma daily.
Sometimes a statement of love needs to be tough love… so I am calling on myself and this community to action! Please don’t just come out to fight against racism in Virginia, we can show up for our community right here…
This means providing child care for a seven-month-old baby while his brown and black parents are standing in court facing charges for police brutality resulting from the Picnic Day 5 incident.
This means donating and showing up for Mike Williams who is facing charges for defending others against neo-Nazis at the Sacramento capital last year.
This means finally getting ourselves out to a Black Lives Matter event in Sacramento even if we are uncomfortable.
There are long lists of people and movements locally who need us to listen, they need our empathy and they need our voices to lift them up in the face of injustice.
Thank you for making the choice to come out here tonight, I love this energy, I love how we can support one another and I know we can all do more to make this community better for marginalized people
