The nation and American democracy has progressed despite hateful bigotry for more than two centuries, and “hateful actions in Charlottesville or elsewhere will not stop it either,” said Dr. Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia (UVA).
Sabato and other UVA faculty members and administrators condemned the violent protests started by hundreds of White nationalists as they gathered on the university’s grounds and in downtown Charlottesville over the weekend. The school also issued statements citing their commitment to inclusion and diversity.
Dr. Teresa A. Sullivan, UVA’s president, addressed the student body on Aug. 4 in advance of the Aug. 12 rally, and urged students and UVA community members to avoid the rally and any risk of physical confrontation and violence at the event. “The organizers of the rally want confrontation; do not gratify their desire,” Sullivan’s Aug. 4 statement said.
White nationalists first took to the UVA campus on Friday evening to protest the city’s decision to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee earlier this year, and what they believe is an attack on their American values. The statue remains pending the outcome of a lawsuit.
The “Unite the Right” rally on Saturday dissolved into violent clashes between White nationalists and counter-protesters, causing Gov. Terry McAuliffe to declare a state of the emergency.
UVA students on campus the night before the rally recalled seeing lit torches, “violence, hate, and blood” as members of the White nationalists groups marched towards the university’s rotunda.
