President Trump’s assertion that “both sides” are responsible for the racial hatred and violence in Charlottesville is false. The white supremacists that gathered on Saturday proudly flaunted their arsenal of automatic weapons and shields. They relied not only on their weapons, but also on Nazi and Confederate imagery to try to intimidate counter-protestors.
President Trump’s statement is also at war with our nation’s history. Racial hatred and violence have not, and have never been, equally shared among different groups in our country. Instead, they have been the province of white supremacists, whose terrorist activities have been made possible by the failure of our laws, and those responsible for enforcing them, to protect Black Americans.
Read the full op-ed here.
