SpokaneFāVS
Spokane citizens have organized a protest today outside of City Hall at 5:30 p.m. titled, “Down with the White Nationalists” in response to the violence that erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend.
On Saturday White Nationalists gathered in Charlottesville for a “Unite Right” march, where they were met with counter protesters. The events turned violent and one person was killed and 19 injured when a car plowed into the counter protesters.
According to an announcement, today’s protest is a way to urge Spokane citizens to speak out, “We cannot just continue to stand by and watch our communities of color, and LGBT community be targets of bigotry.”
Another rally was held Sunday, also in response to the weekend violence. Hundreds attended that gathering, which included speakers, prayer and a moment of silence.
Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of SpokaneFāVS.com, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Assistant Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.
