Hundreds march in A2 to protest planned KKK visit

Shoppers stared through store windows, motorists were forced to stop their cars and Hash Bash participants looked on as about 300 people marched through the streets of downtown Ann Arbor this past Saturday in protest of the planned May 9 Ku Klux Klan rally.

The Unity Rally for Racial Justice commemorated the 30th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination.

"We want to get as many people as we can to work together as one against the threat of racism," said Russell Fuller, a member of the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice.

The rally began in Wheeler Park on Fifth Avenue, with a speech from Ann Arbor City Councilmember Pat Vereen-Dixon and moved down Main Street before finishing at the First United Methodist Church on State Street.

Carrying candles while singing songs such as "We Shall Overcome," the marchers were led by a banner that read "Working together against the giant triplet of racism, materialism, and militantism."

In its second year, the Unity Rally was organized by the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice and is co-sponsored by more than 80 groups within the Ann Arbor community.

The Unity Rally was planned before the announcement of the KKK's May 9 rally plans, but organizers were quick to stress the importance of holding a non-violent protest to oppose the Klan.

Interfaith Council coordinator Tobi Hanna-Davies, an Ann Arbor city councilmember, said the Interfaith Council is planning a non-violent rally across the street from the proposed May 9 KKK rally, similar to a successful 1996 march against a KKK rally in Louisville, Kty.

"Many groups feel they will protest the KKK hate rally with whatever means are necessary, but our goal is to remain non-violent and speak to the community, not the members of the Klan." said LSA junior Mara Yamshon, an Interfaith Council member.

Although organizers were pleased with the turnout at the march, there was concern over the small number of University students involved in the rally.

"We distributed fliers, but there seemed to be a lack of recognition from the students. I was hoping for a greater student turnout tonight," Yamshon said.

After the 45-minute march, participants filled the First United Methodist Church and listened to a performance by the Male Chorus of the Second Baptist Church of Ann Arbor.

The program also included a re-enactment by Ann Arbor actor Steve Dixon of a speech given by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in New York City a year before his death and a speech from Mattie Jones, a leader of the non-violent protest against the KKK's 1996 rally in Louisville, Kty.

04-07-98