From Mike Killalea, NSD President
This marks six years since the hateful white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, VA, in which one woman was murdered, and nearly three dozens injured. In commemoration of this racist horror show, President Biden wrote a brief statement and shared it with his many admirers. It was, he says, the defining element that made up his mind to run for president.
Here is the President’s essay:
By President Joe Biden
Today marks six years since hate and extremism marched from the shadows in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Crazed, angry faces illuminated by torches. Chants echoing the same anti-Semitic bile heard across Europe in the 1930s. Neo-Nazis, Klansmen, and white supremacists emerging into the bright light of day on the streets of a historically significant American city.
A young woman, standing up to them, was killed. And a president said in that darkest of moments — there were good people on both sides.
That moment made clear to me: We were living through a battle for the soul of this nation. And we still are.
Right now, extreme MAGA politicians across the country are working to undermine our basic freedoms:
Defending insurrectionists who attacked our democracy on January 6th.
Burying history and banning books.
Dictating what health care decisions women can make. Curtailing voting rights.
And so much more.
I know we can stop them -- because I know America.
I know we’re good and decent people. I know we’re still a country that believes in honesty, respect, and treating people with dignity.
We are a nation where we give hate no safe harbor. We believe that everyone should be treated equally, and everyone should get a fair shot.
And I know this -- silence is complicity. And we will not remain silent.
Six years ago, Charlottesville motivated me to run for president in the first place. The way millions of people like you stood up for our core values motivated me to run again -- and to finish the job.
What’s at stake for America is nothing less than who we are, what we believe, and perhaps most importantly, who we are going to be.
Joined together, we will win this battle for our soul of America. Because if there’s one thing I know about the American people, it’s this: there is nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together.
Keep the faith.
Joe
Joe Biden
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