Several hundred protesters gathered in Civic Plaza Sunday afternoon for an anti-hate rally promoting understanding and inclusion while opposing the political rhetoric of figures such as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Former Albuquerque City Councilor Rey Garduño contributed to the atmosphere of the demonstration, which was organized by the Albuquerque United Front Against Hate.
“We gather here today not to bury (Donald) Trump, although we’d like to. We’d rather gather here to make sure that he and his reckless, hateful speech are buried forever,” Garduño said.
Sunday marked the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Malcom X, which was preceded on Saturday by a day of remembrance for the internment of 120,000 Japanese Americans following the Pearl Harbor bombings, Garduno said. He said there was a sense of urgency to undo viscous stereotypes surrounding the way society perceives race, gender, physical ability, sexual orientation, age and social-economic status.
“Where do (they) get their venom?” Garduño asked demonstrators in his speech.
Brandon Baca, coordinator of the Refugee Well-Being Project at UNM, spoke of the countless people in the world that have to overcome the harshest aspects of international relations that eventually lead to tensions.
“All of them uprooted from their homes and countries due to circumstances completely out of their control. This often makes you think, it makes me think, that this could have been me, that this could be you,” Baca said.
Baca said not much separates Americans from those of refugee status.
“Most of the refugees that I’ve talked to feel welcomed in Burque, my home. I hear time and again that we smile a lot and are welcoming. So keep smiling Burque,” he said.
Several demonstrators held political signage such as “Albuquerque United Against Fascists” and “Racism Is The Symptom, Capitalism The Disease, Socialism The Cure.”
Protesters also chanted lines such as “Immigration is under attack, stand up, fight back.”
Jessica Avery, a senior philosophy and biology major at UNM, said she was proud to march with the Albuquerque United Front Against Hate and said she considers herself a proponent of the seemingly unnoticed side of the American political spectrum.
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The constant media circus surrounding only the most incendiary political happenings within our society appears to have left little available regard for sensible politics, she said.
“Those on the (political) right in this country, right now, are having a moment where they are coming together under figures such as Trump and Cruz and they are spewing this hate, but they don’t really have a foundation for it,” Avery said in an interview during the march.
They are generating an “us-or-them” mentality that is entirely unfounded, she said.
“I think they’re better people than that, I just think they need to learn something, and I think that’s why we’re here today; is to try and help people learn something about being a better person.”
Johnny Vizcaino is a staff reporter at the Daily Lobo. Contact him at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
