MIDDLETOWN – Well over 100 people gathered in Middletown Monday evening to speak out against racism and hatred that has reared its ugly head in recent days.
Anti-hate rallies have been held across the region and nation since the white supremacists marched with chants of anti-Semitism and racism.
At the Middletown rally, Rabbi Marcus Rubenstein called for unity among all people against the haters.
“What is going to stop this hate is to stop seeing a white Middletown, and a black Middletown and a Hispanic Middletown,” Rubenstein said. “There is one Middletown and we will love all cultures while we stand together.”
Marchers with a message
Rubenstein and Rollins
Mayor Joseph DeStefano was critical of President Trump and his remarks about the hate-mongers.
“If you can’t come out immediately and oppose Nazis marching in the streets and you are the President of the United States, what does that say about the rest of us if we can’t stand up to him and say you need to stand up against these people,” the mayor said.
Civil rights activist James Rollins said we are in “one of the most difficult times” in American history, but he has one concern about the most recent rally.
“I don’t see enough faces of blacks and Latinos here to join forces with the other residents of Middletown to ensure that our stance is clear in terms of where we are regarding the hatred and rise of not white nationalism, but racism,” Rollins said.
Following the rally organized by Middletown resident Marylou Dietrich, the participants marched down Middletown city streets while carrying their signs denouncing racism.
