Like most of you, I am stunned, saddened and outraged — by the terrible acts of hatred and intolerance displayed in Charlottesville this weekend, and by the president's shameful response.
Let's be clear. There is no moral equivalency between marchers for civil rights and justice and those sowing hatred and violent extremism in our neighborhoods and communities. There are not "many sides" to these events and there is not "blame to go around" for what ensued.
All of us at NLIHC condemn, in the strongest possible terms, white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK. We condemn the racism, anti-Semitism, anti-immigrant, homophobia, Islamophopia and other forms of hate they spew. We stand in solidarity with people of color and other historically oppressed communities and with all allies who value diversity, equity and justice.
Decades of federal, state and local housing policies created and sustain to this day segregated communities of deep poverty, geographically cut off from opportunity. Segregation, and the yawning inequality it creates, harms all communities. Only when everyone — people of color, people of diverse religions, of the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, immigrants, refugees and others — can choose where to live based on what's best for themselves and their families, will our mission of ensuring affordable homes for the lowest income people be realized. The naked hatred on display in Charlottesville and, in sometimes less overt but equally insidious ways in other communities throughout the country, shows just how critical untangling segregation's web is for our country's future.
We can't be silent as the president creates cover for such hatred to fester and grow even more violent. We must speak out and act against intolerance and oppression. We must reject hateful rhetoric and act for inclusivity and solidarity.
I urge you all to join us in speaking out in your own communities, in your own ways. To paraphrase Dr. King, together our light can drive out the darkness.
In solidarity,
Diane