Shock.  But no surprise.

That's what we've been feeling since the horrific events began in Charlottesville on Fridayevening.  To watch clergy barricaded in a church, surrounded by Klansman and Nazis with torches - in America in 2017 - broke our spirits and hearts.  But we knew this was inevitable.  From the moment Donald Trump's election became reality in November - we knew it would come to this. 

The KKK marched - in America in 2017 - and they wore no hoods.  Emboldened by a White House administration that employs (at least) one Nazi and several White Supremacists - as senior advisors to the *President - how could we be surprised?

A young woman was murdered in a terrorist act by a White Supremacist - in America in 2017 - and the *President stumbled and mumbled nearly incoherently for three days before finally condemning the White Nationalists responsible for her death.  As critics of the administration have offered today - if it takes a teleprompter for you to denounce Neo-Nazis and the KKK, you have no business running this country.

So allow us to be unequivocal in the place of any ambiguity - we must stop White Supremacy at all costs.  There is no middle - there are not "many sides".   And there is no time for silence.  White Nationalism, Neo-Nazism, White Supremacy, the Klan - whatever society or the media calls them, we must call them unacceptable.  

And the impulse of false equivalency is unacceptable.  We will not allow anyone to propagate a false narrative that equalizes the KKK and Black Lives Matter.  We will not allow anyone to malign our nonviolent Movement with comparisons to Nazis. 

And we will not allow anyone to try and divide us.  Now more than ever, White silence = violence.  We must all stick together in solidarity, find where our goals for liberation intersect, and mobilize and energize and realize the true "beloved community" of which Dr. King dreamed.

There will be much to discuss and to 'unpack' as we move forward.  Even today, more White Nationalist rallies are planned in Boston and around the country.  Many of our friends and families and Movement siblings will be in harm's way.  We think of Heather Heyer - we SAY HER NAME with the names of those who have died righteously fighting against oppression - and we pray for the safety of all who put their lives on the line for justice.  As our sister Rosa Clemente said today

"Heather Heyer was an accomplice for racial justice and Black liberation.  May she rest in freedom..."

These words have meaning.  Linda Sarsour often quotes Indigenous activist and artist Lilla Watson who said "if you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time.  But if you have come here because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together".

And there will be much work to be done.

In the coming days and weeks we will be sharing ideas, meet ups, direct actions, and more.

For now, we wish you peace and safety.