You can say this about American Nazis, they are persistent.
Nearly ten years ago, a group calling itself the National Socialist Movement (NSM) planned a march through a predominately African-American community in a northern section of Toledo, Ohio, ostensibly at the invitation of white residents to protest alleged gang activity by blacks. On October 15, 2005, at the staging point for their march near a local park, they began taunting local African American residents with racial slurs, inciting incidents of civil unrest and the arrest by mounted and unmounted police of roughly 100 people after the Nazis were pelted by eggs. Now they are back, trying to stir up trouble once again:
TOLEDO — Nearly ten years after angry crowds took the streets of Toledo during a march by neo-Nazis, the National Socialist Movement is planning to rally in the Glass City again. […]
“The Toledo rally was important ten years ago, due to violence in the city, and is just as important today considering things have not improved there,” reads a statement released by the NSM. “The National Socialist Movement is calling upon our folk and allies once again as we make another public stand in Toledo on April 18th.”
The date in April for their return was not chosen at random. It comes one day before official festivities for 419 Day, an annual event in Northwest Toled that celebrates the pride and love that people who live in Northwest Toledo have for their communities there. Manyb events by local businesses, museums and the City of Toledo are planned. No surprise, then, that the NSM chose the day before the 419 Day festivities, in what is no doubt another attempt to create trouble and violent conflict between the African American communities in the city and the local police.
The worst part about this year’s planned visit is the timing. The group is coming on April 18, the same weekend as our newest, unofficial citywide holiday, 419 Day.
419 Day is April 19, or 4-19, and is a 24-hour period where residents are asked to show their love for Northwest Ohio, including on social media. This special day, bolstered in recent years by Instagramers, has caught on to the point where bars and local businesses are now planning events to help celebrate Toledo and all those living in the 419.
419 Day was created to show love and pride for our city. The last thing we need are front-page headlines of a repeat riot, inspired by a group of people who only hate.
Ten years ago, this white supremacist hate group was able to achieve its goal of inciting civil unrest. On October 15, 2005, all it took was fifteen members of the NSM, and protected by police, to succeed through taunting the people they came to denigrate. Here’s an account of what happened in 2005 by Pastor Mansour Bey of Toledo’s First Church of God in an interview with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now.
The media … gave a forum to [the organizers of the NSM March] , so that by the time Saturday arrived, a lot of people were already angry because of some of the remarks that had already been made, in terms of the neo-Nazis coming to challenge the gangs and to liberate the white people from the blacks who were terrorizing their neighborhoods. […]
Mansour goes on to say that around 200 to 330 people showed up to protest the presence of the Nazis. Although most were local residents, some came from outside
Toledo, including groups of so-called anarchists (Pastor Bey’s words) who brought eggs, which they handed out to the crowd. After the fifteen Neeo-Nazis began taunting the people with the N-word and other slurs, those eggs were thrown. At that point the police escalated the situation:
[T]he police reacted very swiftly and very forcefully by moving in the mounted police.
And that kind of angered the people, also, because when they came in with the horses, they did not discriminate. They were knocking over — not over, but knocking back women, children and even myself. I was pushed back by a horse. So now — and the people are really — they’re angry at the neo-Nazis, but now their anger was beginning to build towards the police, also, who they felt that they were protecting the neo-Nazis, who were, again, in their neighborhood.
You can imagine what happened after that. The small group of NSM racists had achieved their goal of inciting the crowd, with the help, of course of an overreaction by the police to the eggs that were thrown. The unrest spread, after the group of counter-protesters moved to the other side of the park where they believed the Nazis would appear after marching through the park. There the counter-protestors were confronted by a larger group of police who refused to let them approach the park. Tear gas canisters were employed by the cops and things took a decidedly ugly turn for the worse.
[After the tear gas was shot into the crowd] the people came back with their bricks and their rocks. And so it began, the battle began.
During that time the chief of police called off the march and sent the Nazis home. And I happened to be standing right there and saw the Nazis get in their cars and leave. But none of the counter-protesters saw this. So, many of them — this is about 11:00 in the morning, and even as late as 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon, some of them were still believing — you know, the residents were still believing that the neo-Nazis were still inside of that park being protected by police. But I knew that they had already left town. And we tried to get that word out, but unfortunately that word did not get out.
I’m sure the Neo-Nazi provocateurs in 2005 had a grand old time celebrating all the mayhem they engendered. Of course, local radio shows, just days before the Neo-Nazi rally, gave these hatemongers a forum and the opportunity to do their best to anger and enrage the people of Northern Toledo:
[O]ne of the local radio stations, they have a very popular drive time radio program. And it’s a call-in show. And they had — they were interviewing either Martin or White — In fact, both of them; one day it was Martin the next day it was Bill White, the leaders of this neo-Nazi movement. And on both days, the host tried to be politically correct and, you know, talk about why they had this particular philosophy of hate. But each time the guests would say: “Well, give me my time. It’s my turn. You got me on, let me say what I want to say.” And they gave a forum, to these neo-Nazis.
And they were allowed to really challenge. I mean, they really spoke to the people, to the neighborhood and really challenged, you know, African Americans, the blacks, you know. “This is white man’s time! White power! We’re coming in and we’re gonna be kicking butt!” you know. And they were really saying those types of things.
Yeah, that was a great public service by that radio station, wasn’t it. These hatemongers have a 1st amendment right not to have their speech censored by the government. What they do not have is the right to go on public radio and television and be given broadcast airtime to stir up anger and resentment with their repeated calls for white power and violence against African-Americans.
This time, the reaction to these racist scumbags must be different. If this group of contemptible race-baiting troublemakers shows up, the word must be spread within the community and the local media to simply ignore them. Don’t allow these evil people to cause more misery for the African Americans who live in Toledo. As Jerry Baumhower, columnist for the Toledo Free Press puts it:
This time, let’s not be trolled by the lowest pieces of s*** this country has ever known.
Let’s ignore stupidity and put the focus on love. Let’s choose to not give them any airtime or ink. Let’s not make it worth their time to ever step foot in this city again.
It’s been 10 years, and we are a different city. This time, let’s ignore them.
Amen.
