Yesterday Los Angeles stood in solidarity with Charlottesville alongside thousands of cities around America. The title of the rally was “LA Condemns the Racist Murdering KKK in Virginia” but it could also have been called “Are White People Ready to Acknowledge and Fight Systematic Racism Yet?” The violence and hate in Charlottesville wasn’t an isolated event. We aren’t asking to “make America kind again.” We’re asking everyone to fight systematic racism for the first time. As Carly Usdin’s sign says, “white silence = violence” and it is well past the time to stand up.
