Monday night hundreds took the streets of Eugene in protest of the violence that arose between white supremacists and counter protestors in Charlottesville, Virginia on Saturday, which resulted in the death of a young woman, Heather Heyer, as well as many other injuries when a 20 year-old man drove his car through a crowd of counter protestors.
The rally and march for solidarity with Charlottesville began at the Erb Memorial Union on the University of Oregon campus and concluded at the park blocks across from the Lane County Courthouse. Rally organizer Anthony Samperio says the march came together and grew quickly following Saturday’s events.
“We had pushback right away,” says Samperio. “We had to mobilize our allies here, our black and brown brothers and sisters and queer and trans and non-binary folks. White supremacists in Eugene, you’re on notice. We know you’re here. We’ve known you’re here and now we’re going to seek to dismantle all of this white supremacy here.”
Samperio says it's important no single group takes credit for the rally in order to keep the focus on the community. Security was provided by the Lane Community Defense Network and legal observers from the Civil Liberties Defense Center were present to provide guidance on individuall freedoms.