In response to the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville last weekend and the potential Boston Free Speech Rally on Saturday, several rallies and vigils have been planned around the Boston area. Here’s a look at what’s happening.
Vigil Against Hate
The Concord community will come together to celebrate “love for all” through candlelight, song, prayer and speech support “people of all colors, creeds and identities.” Pizza will be provided for children, according to the event’s Facebook page. (Wednesday, Aug. 16, 7:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Monument Square, Concord)
Our Ville Stands with Your Ville: Charlottesville Vigil
The City of Somerville will host a solidarity vigil for “honoring those lost and injured, denouncing hate and intolerance, and standing in solidarity with those who share our values of diversity and inclusivity.” Other organizers include Temple B’nai Brith, Somerville Human Rights Commission, Clarendon Hill Presbyterian Church, and First Church Somerville. Mayor Joe Curtatone and Board of Aldermen President Bill White are among those scheduled to speak. (Wednesday, Aug. 16, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Davis Square Plaza Statue Park, Somerville)
Arlington Solidarity with Charlottesville and Action Gathering
Attendees are invited to write postcards in support of a federal inter-agency task force on Fighting Hate, make cards of healing and support to the victims in Charlottesville, and make posters for Saturday’s Counter Protest and Resistance Rally. (Wednesday, Aug. 16, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.; First Parish Unitarian Universalist of Arlington, 630 Massachusetts Ave., Arlington)
Solidarity with Charlottesville: Confronting the Nazi Menace
The International Socialist Organization will host a discussion of “how we can build a movement to confront the Nazi menace.” (Thursday, Aug. 17, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; 358 Washington St., Dorchester Center)
Fight Supremacy! Boston Counter-Protest & Resistance Rally
This two-mile march ends in Boston Common, the site of the Free Speech Rally that is scheduled to take place on the same day. “Counter-protests send a message to white supremacists that their hateful rhetoric, physical violence, and fear mongering will not go uncontested. It’s also a show of solidarity and an opportunity for allies to ‘show up’ and wield their privilege,” the organizers wrote on Facebook. The rally is organized by Violence In Boston, Angie Camacho, Black Lives Matter Network, Black Lives Matter Cambridge, and Black Lives Matter Boston. As of Wednesday afternoon, 7,700 have said they were going on Facebook, with 19,000 interested. (Saturday, Aug. 19, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; march from the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center to Boston Common)
Stand for Solidarity
This gathering at the State House also aims to counter the Free Speech Rally on the Common. The Coalition to Organize and Mobilize Boston Against Trump, as well as Answer Coalition Boston, want attendees to “show up in solidarity against hate and show that Boston is not a place that tolerates hate.” As of Wednesday afternoon, 2,700 have said they were going on Facebook, with 8,600 interested. (Saturday, Aug. 19, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.; State House)
Standing Together Against Racism and Violence: A Prayer Vigil
The Lexington Clergy Association invites the Lexington community for a prayer vigil to “celebrate our solidarity against racism, bigotry and anti-Semitism” on the stairs of Hancock Church, opposite the Lexington Green. (Sunday, Aug. 20, 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Hancock United Church of Christ, 1912 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington)