STAFF REPORT
NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
NORTHERN VALLEY, N.J.— Residents in the Northern Valley responded to the hate-filled “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., with calls for peace and solidarity, after white supremacists besieged the southern city over its city council’s decision to remove a statue of historic Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Heather Heyer, 32, was killed in a crowd of counter-protesters who gathered in Charlottesville in opposition to the rally against the removal of Lee’s likeness. She was killed, and dozens around her injured, as a white supremacist representing klansmen and neo-Nazis drove through her group in an attempt to silence them.
Two Virginia State Police officers, Berke M. M. Bates and H. Jay Cullen, were also killed when their helicopter crashed outside of Charlottesville.
Yet, despite these tragic events, it is evident that American greatness is alive and well, and includes social justice and neighbors helping neighbors.
On Sunday, Aug. 13, a candlelight vigil was held in Tenafly. Organized by a group known as Bergen Indivisible for Democracy, dozens attended for a moment of reverence at Tenafly’s Peace Plaza. Bergen Indivisible for Democracy describes its mission as “promoting solidarity in a tumultuous political period.”
Organizer Lori Sackler spoke to the Northern Valley Press following the event.
“The vigil was to stand up against what happened in Charlottesville, and show support for individuals who suffered through awful ordeals. The spirit of our organization is to fight hatred, racism, anti-semitism and bigotry, and to show that these ideas have no place in our world.”
Tenafly Councilman Maxim Basch attended the vigil, and Sackler noted that he had an important role in garnering turnout for the event.
With over 90 participants reported, Sackler summed the evening up as a healing moment.
In Closter, peaceful citizens joined together for a candlelight vigil that organizers said was “in response to the hatred, violence and bigotry that has taken place in Charlottesville.”
Another vigil was held on the Municipal Green in Teaneck, where people advocated for peace.
According to Paula Rogovin, a local community organizer, peace vigils have been held every Wednesday since post-9/11 military action began. At the 624th weekly vigil, nearby citizens demonstrated against politicized violence in the wake of protests in Charlottesville.
“We’ve been active for 12 years, and have held 624 consecutive vigils since opposing the war in Iraq. In the beginning, people were screaming and cursing at us, but little by little we saw the political climate of the country change.”
Rogovin’s son is a Marine veteran, and was present at the peace vigil on Aug. 16. Along with him were several military families, Vietnam veterans, and others, Rogovin reports.