Unity Cville Concert

[Yonnie3]

This is being offered as a counter to the KKK rally at three p.m. around five b locks away. I went by the venue to check on things because folks I work with are providing the PA system. The security perimeter is extra strong, in fact so strong, I couldn't get in to check in person. I usually stroll in the rear access and tell them who I am, but not today. There will be many times more people at this event than the KKK's rally.

http://www.sprintpavilion.com/events/detail/unity-cville

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Unity Cville Concert
Sat, Jul 8, 2017
Unity Cville Concert
Feat. We Are Star Children, Chamomile and Whiskey, Crystal Garden, and local Worship Groups

Unity Cville Concert at Sprint Pavilion featuring We Are Star Children, Chamomile and Whiskey, Crystal Garden, and local Worship Groups (multi-faith choirs).

Unity C-ville is committed to an open, inclusive and hate-free Charlottesville and Central Virginia. We believe, as our founding fathers did, that all people are created equal. We celebrate the rich diversity of our community, and the broad range of perspectives, viewpoints and ideas that stem from that diversity.

We envision a city that respects the dignity and worth of every human being.

Visit https://www.unitycville.com/ for more information.

[The River]

1. C-ville is a Nice City

I lived there for 35+ years.
The problem is Virginia. Despite modern progressive urban areas, most of the state is bloody red and steeped in "heritage". The good ol' boys in rural areas are just as racist as ever. They just keep it undercover most of the time. It's an uneasy truce at best. Now that tRump is in office they are feeling emboldened.

[Yonnie3]

2. This KKK rally is run by a North Carolina group.

I've been in the general area since 1968. I came once and stayed. It's nice, but the powers to be seem to want to make Albemarle County into a NoVA clone.

[The River]

3. I'm Aware

that's it's out of state agitators. They picked C-ville as a "target" because it's everything they are against and it would become a media event. The statue controversy gives them a reason to rally. Holding a rally like this in the Valley or Southside would draw bigger crowds but would not generate the outrage and confrontation they seek. It's like the nazis who targeted Skokie, IL because of its' Jewish population. They aren't seeking converts so much as media attention.

You don't need to defend C-ville, I know it all too well.
Every town has a dark side and C-ville is no exception.
That's why I decided to retire to a progressive state.

[Yonnie3]

4. I've worked events at fair grounds in the Valley.

The Nashville musicians sing about "those people", "true Americans, "old fashioned values" and so forth. They then get in their bus, get high, and joke about the rednecks out there. This manipulative reinforcement of hate, for monetary gain, sickens me and I longer accept work there without knowing who the artists are. I'm sure a KKK rally would be well attended there and that it would be dangerous to be a protester at one.

I didn't feel as if I were needlessly defending the 'ville. Many reading here may not know the facts and the media doesn't always give the whole story.

I am amused to see some of the staunch racists I knew from work posting pictures on Facebook of their biracial grand kids. Things are changing.