A recent hate incident in Granby sparked the “Stop the Hate” rally, held by Granby Racial Reconciliation (GRR) on the town green on Oct. 28.
The morning of Oct. 21, some residents of the town awoke to find a flyer in their driveways from the Nationalist Social Club (NSC). This group promotes itself as “a pro-white, street-oriented fraternity dedicated to raising authentic resistance to the enemies of our people in the New England area.” The flyers were intended to recruit men of European descent to organize and resist because the NSC believes white people are being replaced by people of color. The ideology of this group is based on a conspiracy theory called “The Great Replacement,” and at its core is white supremacist, xenophobic and anti-immigrant.
Within hours of the discovery of the propaganda, GRR released a statement condemning the ideology of this Neo-Nazi hate group. It called all people to stand against this message of hate and stand for the acceptance of all people.
There were more than 100 people in attendance and the rally featured eight speakers from Granby representing a broad spectrum of voices: Kim Becker, Granby Education Foundation Chair; Bill Bentley and Michael Fitzgerald, community members; Mark Fiorentino, First Selectman; Dr. Fred Moffa, Selectman; Dr. David Peling, Board of Education member; Clark Pfaff, chair of GRR and Pastor; Cathy Watso, GRR board member.
“I felt it was a very effective non-violent response to hatred. A thread of love ran throughout, but realistic love, not ignoring the realities at hand, i.e., Neo-Nazis are in our midst. Consequently, we don’t have to be ‘gentle’ in responding to hate, but firm in our conviction and our manner of speech. Love is not simply being nice,” said Pastor Denny Moon who was in the audience.
At the conclusion of the rally, GRR members handed out free lawn signs that read “Hate has no place in our town.” Within days of the rally, all 200 double-sided lawn signs were handed out and are now seen throughout the community.
This rapid response to a hate group’s propaganda is in alignment with GRR’s purpose “to raise awareness and continue the conversations on racial justice in our community so Granby can be a great place for everyone.”
The Anti-Defamation League reported the “incidents involving white supremacist propaganda have surged, 115 percent in Connecticut in 2022 compared to 2021 (CT Post March 3, 2023).” GRR is developing programs for the community to withstand the forces that foment fear and division.
GRR is a nonprofit organization formed in response to multiple incidents of racial injustice in the United States of America in 2020. For more information about Granby Racial Reconciliation, visit GranbyRR.com