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WILKES-BARRE — Carrying handmade signs bearing words such as “love” and “peace” and others denouncing President Donald Trump, white supremacists and others, rallygoers listened to speakers and engaged in song, poetry and prayer on Public Square on Sunday in response to violence and bloodshed Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Organized by Paula Chaiken and Jennifer Ciarimboli, the event was one of many held across the nation Sunday evening in an attempt to promote love and understanding over violence and hate.
“We organized this event because we were very upset about what happened in Virginia yesterday,” Chaiken said. “We wanted to be able to take some kind of concerted action, especially to show the world that we really are the valley with a heart.”
A car plowed into a crowd of people peacefully protesting a white nationalist rally Saturday in the Virginia college town, killing one person, hurting at least two dozen more and ratcheting up tension in an increasingly violent confrontation. A helicopter crash that killed the pilot and a passenger later in the afternoon outside Charlottesville also was linked to the rally by state police.
The Wilkes-Barre event was planned in less than a day, Ciarimboli said, and was posted and shared through social media.
“I felt outraged and angry and sad that this is the state of being in this country right now, and I knew that there were other people out there feeling the same way as me,” Ciarimboli said. “I feel that in times like these, it’s important to come together.”
Both women said they hope the overall effect of the rally will be bring a more peaceful sense of community locally, and add to the message of love and caring on a national level.
“I want people to know that they’re not alone, I want people to feel that it’s OK to be sad right now. What we experienced isn’t normal, and it’s not OK,” Chaiken said.
During her opening speech, Chaiken asked the audience members if they’ve ever thrown a pebble into a pond, producing small ripples that grow outward in size. She said she hopes the rally equates to a pebble being thrown in a pond, producing ripples throughout the Wyoming Valley and beyond to counteract acts of hate with small acts of kindness and love.
NAACP Wilkes-Barre chapter president Guerline Laurore started her speech on a political note, criticizing Trump for failing to condemn the white supremacists at the Charlottesville incident, instead saying that he blamed “many sides.” She said former KKK leader David Duke was pleased with the president’s response.
“People all over the country are upset that the President did not call them by name,” Laurore said. “It is important to understand that the relationship between what white supremacists expected from Donald Trump — based on his rhetoric of hate — and what happened yesterday. These people supported Trump because of his rhetoric of hate.”
Rabbi Roger Lerner, of Temple B’Nai B’rith, told the crowd to stand up against hate and show their love and togetherness for each other instead. He said diversity and differences is what makes the nation great and strong against all others.
“It is ultimately absurd, even insane, to imagine that the United States of America has — and always has been — white or a single denominational religion nation. This is front and center the definition of insanity,” Lerner said. “The insanity based on the premise that there is only one way in which to understand our life in America. Only one way to understand God, and only one way to understand our constitution. What sheer and utter nonsense.”
As the crowd cheered to his remarks, a group of young women stood in the back of the crowd, holding handmade signs that read phrases such as “Liberty and Justice for All,” and “Love > Hate #WBStrong.” Kingston resident Olivia Winters attended the rally with her friends, saying she felt compelled to come out and show support after such a horrific event.
“I think everybody was pretty horrified by the events that we saw (take) place yesterday, and I’m glad that people came together as a community,” she said. “It gives a lot of hope that not everybody has those negative views and are filled with hate, and that there is love in the world.”
Standing next to her was Kimberly Ferrara, who explained that she wanted to come to the event to see that there is still good left in the world.
“With how much negativity is broadcasted out there on National Media, it’s important to come together and see people face-to-face and see that it’s not all bad,” she said. “It’s like a breath of fresh air to not have to sit at home and be constantly thinking that this is not the world that we should be living in.”
