A Message from the Vice Mayor of Charlottesville
“We need for everyone to remain in the church until we direct you to do otherwise.” Such were the words from the leaders of a church service in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 11, 2017. There were 500 or so people present, all thinking they were trapped inside, while white supremacists marched outside with tiki torches. Unlike them, we had gathered for an altogether different purpose: a community service about sticking together, standing strong, and how love always overcomes hate. Throughout the service, however, the mood was eerie to say the least. People pretended to show strength and a level of belief that things would be okay, that we had each other’s backs . . . but that resolve was tested. Throughout the day as well as the days and weeks that led up to August 11, there was a dark cloud looming over the city.
From the barbershops to the city council meetings, in every neighborhood, people were talking about the “Unite the Right” rally on August 12. Being that the leader and organizer of the rally, Jason Kessler, had essentially made it his life mission to try and derail my life and livelihood, people were concerned for my well-being, and the well-being of my family. People were worried not just for me, but for the city as a whole. However for some reason, I was cautiously optimistic that things would be okay. I want to be clear: I am from the Deep South. I have heard countless stories about the KKK, about white supremacists and other groups who despise the color of my skin, doing a variety of hateful and vile things to try and intimidate us. So as I sat in the church, and the news broke that white supremacists were outside with tiki torches, my initial thoughts and feelings made my blood boil. I desperately wanted to fight. I wanted to show that this will not be tolerated, accepted, or allowed in our city! I wanted the people in the church to know that things were going to be okay. However, I could do neither. I’m the vice mayor. I can’t. I have to remain calm and I have to remain composed.
I was eventually escorted out of the building with the rest of the members of the church to safety, all while nearly 30 or so students from the University of Virginia and the community stood tall and defended the lawn in their own way. They stood up to the white supremacists and let their voices be heard. What they did was incredibly dangerous, some might even say foolish. I call it brave. It was well after midnight when I closed my eyes to go to sleep that I vowed that tomorrow, we would not be intimidated. The hate would not be tolerated.
I woke up on Saturday morning at 4:30 a.m. I prayed and I cried. I felt as if I had spoken to the ancestors. The message was clear: “Stand tall.” I told myself that day, I would not feel what I had felt just hours before. We had a sunrise service at the First Baptist Church on West Main Street at 6:00 a.m. As one of the speakers, I arrived a little earlier and met with Cornel West, a philosopher and activist, and one of my heroes. He embraced me and told me he was incredibly proud of me and that the ancestors were as well. I felt his words were divine. The service was electric and empowering to say the least. The mood was different. It felt as if the time to stand up to hate was here. So we marched. I was assigned a security detail of sorts to follow my every move. From the church, myself and others led a march to the historic African American Heritage Center. We then marched from there to the park. We knew what lay ahead of us. We saw the hate in their eyes as we marched, as we chanted, as we stood tall. Our message was clear: “No hate! No fear! White supremacy is not welcome here!” The day was a whirlwind. Some people tried their best to show that our community rejects the notion of hate. Some freedom fighters tried their best. The cowards on the other side took the life of one of our brightest and bravest freedom fighters. They thought she died, but she lives forever. We became stronger together!
Many people have called the days, the weeks, and the months that have followed, “The Awakening.” Black people, white people, yellow people, old people, young people, and everyone in between have now seen the hateful ways of the white supremacists who worked to overthrow our city. We have heard from the 45th person to sit in the Oval Office—who I refuse to name—his need to condemn people from “both sides.” We heard David Duke, the leader of the Ku Klux Klowns, say that his people came to Charlottesville to fulfill the promise of their president. We saw the hate that some came to our city with. We saw clearly just how they felt about us. We have also seen that we are stronger than they could ever be. For the first time ever, we have since elected an independent to our City Council. For the first time ever, we have two African Americans on our City Council. And, for the first time ever, we have an African American female mayor, my sister Nikuya Walker.
“The Awakening” has been tough for some, painful for others, but necessary for all. We have had City Council meetings in which people have yelled for, and demanded, change. We have seen people throughout our city become more vocal than they have ever been. We have seen a shift. Some have said that this shift, with people being outspoken and expressing their displeasure at City Council meetings and at other venues, is not how we should be conducting ourselves. Yelling, cursing, and being upset scares some people. Some have said that being loud and going about things in that way doesn’t get us anywhere. I disagree. We have moved further along in the past four months than we had in the two years I was on the council. In order to get to clean water, you have to go through mud. People deserve to be heard. People deserve to be shown empathy. People have a right to express themselves as they see fit. We all have a responsibility to ensure that things never go back to how they were before. No more covert racism. No more passive aggressiveness. No more holding people back. No more of the old Charlottesville. This is our time. Our time to make this city better, equitable, and free for all. This is the #NewCville.
Wes Bellamy is the vice mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia.