The Carrier editorial reflects a consensus of the editorial board. 

Campus Carrier editorial board

When the Rome News-Tribune reported on Saturday that a Michigan-based “white rights” group was planning a rally in downtown Rome for April 23, many members of the Berry community were shocked. It is not easy to realize that the town we have come to love is not immune to the hateful force of racism, and we do not like to think of our peers being threatened or told that they are unwanted or less valued.

A petition on the activism website MoveOn has been signed by over 800 people, including some Berry students, who oppose the rally. The Rome-Floyd County NAACP is collaborating with other community organizations to plan a counter-protest.  According to the Rome News-Tribune, Mayor Jamie Doss said the group should “find another city,” but Rome police have confirmed that as long as the protest does not turn violent, the protesters have the legal right to hold their event.

The same First Amendment rights that allow the Neo-Nazi group to express their views can inspire the more welcoming people from Rome and beyond to show that Floyd County deserves better. 

Participating in a counter-protest to support people of color is a great place to start. The National Socialist Movement’s hateful messages are harmful not only to people in Rome, but around the country, as the NSM travels frequently in an attempt to perpetuate racist ideas. However, if we speak out that day and return to our usual routines the next day, we will have done relatively little to address the problem of institutional racism that affects people of color, including our own classmates and friends, on a daily basis. 

Racism in our generation manifests itself in different ways than the more blatant and obvious prejudice that our parents and grandparents knew. In many social groups, it is not seen as acceptable to be virulently, openly racist. There are certainly young adults in the United States, in Rome and likely even at Berry who are forthcoming about their racist views and would support the rally downtown. These people, however, are often rejected by their peers. More young Americans are willing to confront their peers who are openly hateful than they are willing to talk to their friends about an offensive joke or casual comment.

We should be outraged at the rally the NSM is planning. But we should also be upset when our friend implies that people of color all fit an offensive stereotype, or when we hear a cringe-worthy racist joke that only appears to be harmless. We should question unfair portrayals of people of color in the media. We should listen to our peers when they talk about the discrimination they have faced, and we should take the steps necessary to make sure that they feel welcomed and accepted for who they are. For some, this may mean acknowledging that we have been part of the problem, but then deciding to not allow that to continue to happen. 

Racism shouldn’t be welcome at Berry, and we should make a commitment to show everyone that we won’t stand for it.