Seas of people marching down King Street. A tuba player in a rainbow tutu. Speakers from the NAACP and 52-year-old white women marching hand in hand. This was the scene at the Hate Free Hillsborough March in Hillsborough Aug. 31, in response to a KKK rally at the same location a week earlier.
On August 24, KKK members of the Loyal White Knights gathered in front of the Hillsborough Court House in a demonstration of white supremacy. This event struck a chord with many in the community who did not expect to see this national news-worthy protest occur in their own town.
¨It was surreal to see that and then wake up the next morning, at about 5 a.m., and see these flyers [the KKK] had dropped in everyone’s driveways, talking about the Klan,¨ said Chris Walker, a resident of Hillsborough. ¨It was very unnerving, the stuff they had in there, taking about ‘If you’re white and want to get your power back, get on this website.’”
“Sunday, I woke up thinking, we gotta do something… we can’t just let this happen,” said Latondra Strong, who organized the march. “The thought was for the march to be inspiring, encourage unity and help us in the community feel powerful… after having to face this threat.”
In response to the KKK rally, protestors organized with messages of peace. The protest began with a prayer at the Margaret Lane Cemetery, home to countless unmarked graves of slaves, and then a procession began toward the Hillsborough Court House. In this one-mile walk, protesters marched to the beat of drums and horns, and to the words of speakers from local organizations such as the NAACP.
It’s really easy for me to [sit back] as a white, 52 year old, in response to this, but people of color don’t have a choice…. People have to put themselves on the line, that’s where our country is now.¨
¨There was an overall festive feeling, but it opened with a solemn prayer where we were reflecting on where we were standing, and the injustices that had happened here and in this country for hundreds of years,¨ said Boykin Bell, a Chapel Hill resident who attended the Hate Free Hillsborough march.
