Anti-Racist March Planned In Mt. Greenwood, Beverly/Morgan Park

CHICAGO — Two local activist groups are planning an "anti-racist unity march" along busy thoroughfares in Mount Greenwood, Morgan Park and Beverly. The march, planned to take shape on Saturday, Sept. 7, will begin at 111th and Kedzie and go east to 111th and Western, then turn north on Western to 103rd, when it will end at Beverly Park. It is a protest against racism and white supremacy.

After the march, speakers will take a stage at Beverly Park. That's where a rally will be held around noon. Start time for the march is set for 10 a.m.

The Southwest Chicago Diversity Collaborative and Southsiders For Peace are planning the event as a response to white supremacist rhetoric that has surfaced in the 19th Ward neighborhoods of Mount Greenwood, Beverly and Morgan Park over the last year. Organizers point to anti-Semitic flyers that have been shared from a known hate group, the "repeated" appearance of swastikas and other racist graffiti and the candidacy of a former Nazi who received thousands of votes in the ward during the 2018 Illinois 3rd District House of Representatives election.

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"It can be painful to acknowledge that hate, racism, anti Semitism occur in our own backyard," Maria Moser, a board member with the SCDC, said. "But racism poisons our community and silence leads to violence. Pretending these incidents will go away by themselves will not protect our neighbors from violence and fear."

A former white supremacist who is now reformed and speaks in public against racism and white supremacy, Christian Picciolini, said at a recent meeting to address the hate incidents centered in the ward that "this (the meeting) is a good start, but it cannot end here."

The march is a way to continue the conversation and search for solutions, organizers said, less than a month later.

"Our community is precious because it is diverse and welcoming to all," said Lenore Wolf of Southsiders For Peace. "The fight against racism in the 19th Ward is part of a nationwide struggle in the name of unity. We hope neighbors will join together to reject racism, xenophobia and hatred."

Volunteers Wanted

Anyone interested in volunteering at the march can email swchicagodiversity@gmail.com or visit the SCDC on Facebook.