Five Things You Can Do To Combat White Supremacy
One year after Charlottesville, let’s do all we can to defend civil and human rights.

By Ashley Allison
Sunday, August 12, will mark the one-year anniversary of the largest white supremacist rally in recent times — a rally organized on the heels of the Charlottesville City Council’s decision to remove the statue of Confederate soldier Robert E. Lee from a bustling public park.
That weekend, America watched as burning torches and venomous, racist chants escalated overnight into physical violence. News from Charlottesville swept the nation: Heather Heyer, a young woman who believed in a better America, was murdered by a white supremacist. Two police officers who were trying to ensure safety lost their lives. DeAndre Harris was brutally beaten in a parking garage because of the color of his skin.
And as news of the tragedy swept the nation, the president of the United States equated those who would end racism with those who promote its poison.
The events of that day stirred the conscience of America and mobilized people to act. But even so, crimes motivated by hate and prejudice are on the rise. In June, a research team analyzed hate crime trends in the 10 largest U.S cities in 2017. They found that hate crimes reached their highest number in a decade after increasing for four straight years.
The data understate the true volume of violence against communities. The Washington Post reported that nearly 90 percent of the nation’s approximately 16,000 law enforcement agencies do not submit hate crimes to the FBI. This means our understanding of the magnitude and nature of the crisis is dangerously limited.
To take on this problematic gap in data, The Leadership Conference Education Fund launched Communities Against Hate with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and more than 25 national, state, and local partners. As we do this work, we remember that behind every number is a person, a family, and a community — touched and torn apart by hate.
We remember the imam in Texas whose tires were slashed as fire consumed the front door of the mosque where he leads. We remember the Black family whose home in Ohio was spray-painted with racial slurs and swastikas. And we remember the transgender people whose safe haven in Pennsylvania was targeted when an explosive landed on their front porch.
These are just a few of the thousands of stories collected by Communities Against Hate. Together, our coalition is building a place for survivors and witnesses to make their voices heard through our online database and telephone hotline.
As the Trump administration fans the flames of nationalism and prejudice through rhetoric and alarming policies, the hateful forces driving the violence will seek only to strengthen. This weekend, white supremacists plan to march in our nation’s capital. Their vile grab for attention only solidifies our resolve to continue the work of healing, reconciliation, and transformative action.
Zyahna Bryant, a young activist in Charlottesville who called for the removal of Lee’s statue, wrote in her petition: “I believe that we should celebrate the things that have been done in this great city to uplift and bring people together, rather than trying to divide them.”
In that spirit, we ask you to pledge to fight white supremacy and hate in all its forms. Here are five actions you can take right now to defend civil and human rights:

Demand President Trump Fire Stephen Miller. White House Senior Advisor Stephen Miller uses his position to stoke bigotry, hate, and division. Miller was the architect of Trump’s Muslim ban and the monstrous immigration policy that separated children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. Sign our petition to demand Miller’s removal from the White House.
Strengthen Data Collection of Hate Incidents and Hate Crimes. Data must drive policy. Call your members of Congress and tell them state and local law enforcement authorities should collect and report hate crimes data to the FBI, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and nationality.
Share Your Story Through Communities Against Hate. If you or someone you know has experienced or witnessed a hate incident, please encourage them to share their story with Communities Against Hate or call the hotline (1–844–9-NO-HATE or 1–844–966–4283). They can also access legal resources and social services support.
Vote Your Values. Vote for elected officials who will honor civil and human rights. All of us have the power to speak out against hate and bigotry — and voting can move us toward our highest ideals of justice and fairness. Learn about voting resources in your state and help register others.
Take ’Em All Down. Symbols of hate and oppression appear in our most hallowed places, from schools to parks to capitol buildings. Sign Color of Change’s petition to remove Confederate monuments and symbols and dismantle white supremacy.
These five actions are just the start. We’re in perilous times, but all of us have the power to shape our communities for the better.
Mere months after the City Council’s vote in Charlottesville, Lee’s statue became the center of an American tragedy. It became the site of a grievous clash of our nation’s ideals and lived reality, and of the enduring horrors of our past and the fight for a hopeful future.
We continue that fight one year later. Because for every single hateful voice, thousands more stand on the side of civil and human rights. They stand on the side of love.
For more information, please visit civilrights.org/againsthate.
Ashley Allison is executive vice president of campaigns & programs at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights






