This is an archive of the Call to Action on the first anniversary of A11/12. Congregate Cville provides this as an ongoing educational resource for the history of clergy presence in Charlottesville’s call to justice.

Call to Action for People of Faith - August 2018

We call on faith communities and people of faith to take action and take to the streets on the weekend of August 11th and 12th.

As we approach the anniversary of the white supremacist terror attack in Charlottesville, we honor and celebrate those who used their bodies, their voices and their resources to resist white supremacy and fascism. We count our resistance in Charlottesville as a win; shortly after August 12th, white supremacist groups began to crumble as they faced growing resistance and confrontation.

The struggle continues. We’ve spent the last year organizing in Charlottesville to resist ongoing threats of white supremacist violence, to challenge the racist legal system, and to support our immigrant neighbors with the abolition of ICE.

Now we’re readying our resistance for the white supremacist rallies planned for Charlottesville and Washington DC on August 12th. Whether or not the white supremacists hold a rally, we will show up to promote anti-racist justice, to claim that white supremacy is evil, and to further the work of deconstructing white supremacist structures that dominate our society.

The Charlottesville Summer of Resistance Welcoming Committee has issued this Call to Action. Shut it Down DC has issued this Call to Action to Resist and Confront Racism.

We call on people of faith to join Charlottesville and DC in our resistance of white supremacy and fascism.  If you are not in our area, create a local action of your own.

Consider how you can create visible solidarity. Consider civil disobedience. Consider how you can protest the oppressive ideals and practices that exist in your own community.

No matter our faith traditions, we are all called to resist evil. We are called to enact justice. We are called to sacrifice for the sake of our human siblings. Transformation, goodness, and justice will not occur unless we are willing to risk our comfort, risk our reputations, and even risk our livelihoods. 

Let us remember that non-violence does not mean non-action. We are grounded in non-violence and non-passivity. We choose justice over civility. We remember that there is no peace without justice. We proclaim love over fear.

Join us on August 11th and 12th as we show solidarity with those who have been pushed to the margins of our society. Then join us as the work for justice continues. Grounded in our own faith traditions, we will use our voices, our resources, and our bodies to dismantle the evil and immoral systems that perpetuate white supremacy and fear.

#LoveOverFear #WeShowUp