This past weekend in Charlottesville, VA, we witnessed our country fail once again to meet the ideals upon which it is founded – that all people are created equal and that we all have certain fundamental rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We witnessed racism, violence, hate, terrorism and murder. We were dismayed by the reluctance of some of our leaders to condemn white supremacy and domestic terrorism.

This past weekend promoters of hate and intolerance came to King County, gathering at Westlake Park in Seattle, falsely asserting they were patriots. True patriots defend the ideals upon which our nation was founded. True patriots protect and support those who are the targets of intolerance, racism and oppression. Patriots are those warriors who successfully fought a war against slavery and white supremacy, a world war against Nazism and fascism, and those who continue to fight the war against poverty.

This weekend’s horrific acts in Charlottesville teach us that now is the time for vigilance of those who promote hate and intolerance. Now is the time to confront the inequalities that exist here in King County – inequalities  that reflect the accumulation of structural racism and complacency by those with privilege.

We stand with those leaders who condemn the behaviors we witnessed this weekend, and we challenge our leaders who fail to name and condemn racism to act with courage and use the power they have to change the policies and practices that divide our country and perpetuate inequality.

At Solid Ground, we reach out to support and protect those who are victimized by the hateful behaviors of others – and we ask all members of our Solid Ground community to raise your voice to condemn racism and oppression whenever and wherever it occurs.