Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Monday, August 14, 2017.
Hundreds march downtown to denounce racism after Charlottesville violence
Hundreds of Chicagoans gathered to denounce racism and bigotry on Sunday in the wake of a deadly clash between white supremacists and peaceful counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia. “We must mourn and we also must organize,” the organizers of the Chicago Stands With Charlottesville rally wrote on Facebook. “We must show that right-wing hate, racism, and violence will not be tolerated. Solidarity is needed.” Many of the protesters targeted the Trump administration as well; #Blacklivesmatter tweeted “Marching against hate, white supremacy, and the Trump/Pence regime.” Also on Sunday, the Illinois senate approved a resolution Sunday asking law enforcement to recognize neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups as terrorist organizations, according to the Tribune. “It is vital that we stand in total opposition to the hatred, bigotry and violence displayed by the white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups in Charlottesville this past weekend,” Democratic senator Don Harmon of Oak Park, the bill’s sponsor, said. “They are the heirs to the Ku Klux Klan and the Nazis. We fought two bloody wars in opposition to their ideologies. We must continue to fight those same twisted ideologies today.” [DNAinfo Chicago] [Tribune]
