Please Sign on to Stop Trump Rally – by April 7 if possible
Dear Friends,
The fear-, hate-, and war-mongering that is going on in the presidential campaign is alarming and must be stopped. We particularly do not want to see Donald Trump or any equivalent activity in our City of Good Neighbors.
Please do one of the following:
Sign on to the following letter, either as yourself individually or for an organization that authorizes you:
DIY Roots Action Stop Trump Rally WNY
http://diy.rootsaction.org/p/
This letter, drafted by Rev. George Nicholas, has come out of the Stand Together Against Racism & Islamophobia – Buffalo group.* The text of the letter is also below. We hope you can sign on your organization. Individual signatures are also more than welcome!!!
We hope you will sign on within the next week as we are planning to have a press conference (and possibly rally) on the subject.
You can also sign on to the following on-line petition:
https://www.causes.com/
OR go to the following Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/
to like, comment, or share.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions, etc
Victoria Ross
716-931-3520
Coordinator, STARI – Buffalo (and Nationwide)
Executive Director, WNY Peace Center
Consultant, Interfaith Peace Network
* STARI-Buffallo put together the large rallies we enjoyed last fall, gathering more than 200 and 300 people respectively in November and December with only a few days organizing. We were effective in thwarting anti-refugee legislation being promoted at the time (tho the danger still looms). That was also what lead to the National STARI group. See unityandsolidarity.org
Text of Letter:
Dear Friend,
America is a nation that still struggles to live up to the promise of the words of Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence “that all men are created equal.” We are a nation made up of people from all over the globe who have migrated to America with the hope of finding a better life. Despite the ugly past of the dispossessing of native peoples and the brutal enslavement of African people, America is still a land where people of many races live, work, and worship shoulder to shoulder with each other. We have not yet met the lofty ideals of the founding fathers, but we are a nation that has made amazing progress over the years
The recent emergence of the leading candidates for the Republican nomination for the Presidency of the United States threatens to stymy the progress of this generation. The wisdom of Solomon teaches us a poignant lesson: “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs” (NIV, Proverbs 10:12).
From day one of his regressive campaign, Mr. Trump has spewed hate-filled rhetoric that has brought nothing but conflict to our nation. Mr. Trump repeatedly insults his opponents and those who differ from his narrow-minded view of the future of America. His race-based insults if the Latino community as it relates to immigration denies the promise held in the words of the Statue of Liberty. His hate-filled rhetoric against Islam denies one of the founding principles of America, which is religious freedom. His links to white supremacy terrorist organizations threatens to reverse the great progress America has made from slavery, Jim Crow to the Civil Rights movement. Having Mr. Trump as the standard bearer for the GOP prevents it from upholding its heritage as the party of Lincoln; reducing it to the party of hatred, division and racism.
After a generation of despair due to the decline in the auto, steel and other manufacturing industries, Western New York is currently experiencing an economic renaissance. Along with this resurgence, new visionary leadership has taken on the segregated past of our region in an attempt to bring our community together. Initiatives like the Opportunity Pledge, Racial Roundtable and One Buffalo has ushered in a new era of inclusion, diversity and unity, creating an atmosphere of hope in the region. The last thing we need in this region is a visit from a man who by his own words stands against unity while exploiting old stereotypes and race based bias to fuel his campaign of hate. So we are calling on people of good conscious across this region to say Mr. Trump your campaign, your words and your presence is not welcome in our region.
Mr. Trump’s words and his surrogates who spew his rhetoric clearly show where his heart is along with his blurred vision for the future of our nation. We must send a peaceful but powerful message to Mr. Trump and those who support his campaign, that we have fought too hard to tear down the walls of division and we refuse to go back to our painful past. We must send a powerful and peaceful message to those like Chairman Langworthy, Congressman Collins and Mr. Paladino that this campaign of intolerance has no place in our community. So lets us stand together hand in hand reaching across the lines of race, religion, gender, class and sexual orientation to say yes to love. And let us embrace the prophetic words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his vision of the beloved community:
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”