“What happened in Alabama” by Doug Jones
A note about hope and hate from Tim Kaine’s friend, Doug Jones
Recently, Doug Jones signed our Pledge to Reject Hate and passed along a note about why he’s standing with Tim and against hatred. We wanted to share his note with you — read Doug’s story, and take the pledge today.
Folks, hope is an interesting thing.
As a US attorney, I prosecuted two of the KKK members responsible for the 1963 bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed four little black girls. The men who planted that bomb wanted to crush the hope rising within the African American community as a result of the Civil Rights Movement.
This pattern of violence following surges of hope continues today: We see it in attacks on mosques and synagogues, against immigrants, against members of the LGBTQ community.
We saw it when white supremacists and neo-Nazis descended on Charlottesville, one year ago this month.
The only way to stop this pattern is to stand up and show that violence will never stop us from fighting for equality. I’m proud to stand against hate — and I know my friend Tim is, too. Will you add your name and pledge to stand alongside us?
One thing Tim says a lot is that “equality is America’s North Star” — and he’s devoted his career to following that star in Virginia, just like I have in Alabama.
My state — and your state — have come a long way since the dark days of that church bombing in 1963. But we still have a ways to go, and we can’t let anybody or anything turn us around.
You saw what happened in Alabama — we rejected hate, and those who embraced it, by heading to the ballot box on December 12th of last year. And we can do that again in Virginia on November 6th of this year:
Hope represents the best of this nation’s ideals. Like I have said before: Hope is durable, but it’s not invincible. And if we fail to protect it, we all suffer the consequences.
Tim and I are protecting hope and standing against hate. I hope you’ll stand with us.
— Doug Jones
