Rally in support of Charlottesville community in Bowling Green

8/13/2017

BOWLING GREEN — Calling it a “Rally to Protect Freedom,” a local city councilman is organizing a gathering at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Wooster Green to show support for Charlottesville, Va.

Daniel Gordon, who represents Bowling Green’s First Ward, said the city has a civic tradition of rallying on behalf of people who are hurting. In Charlottesville, where a white nationalist rally on Saturday turned violent and deadly, people are hurting.

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“We previously rallied for the victims in Orlando, and we rallied against the Muslim ban, and we also rallied against the federal deportation policy so we thought it was important to have a response to what happened in Charlottesville because it's horrific what happened there,” Mr. Gordon said. “I believe if you're a community that says it's going to be about equality and freedom and justice for all, it's important that we practice those words and that we set an example for our neighbors and our children.”

The rally will be held at the Wooster Green at the corner of West Wooster and South Church streets.

“Freedom is not just something we’re given,” Mr. Gordon said. “It’s something we have to continually fight for. When terrorists like this can go around hurting people, getting people killed and injured and spouting this really horrific un-American stuff, we have to be vigilant and reaffirm who we are as a people and that’s just as true in Bowling Green and northwest Ohio.”

Mayor Dick Edwards said Mr. Gordon contacted him with the idea, and he expressed his full support.

“I commended him for his initiative because that's what the Wooster Green is all about: it's a gathering place,” the mayor said.

He said he has friends in Charlottesville and feels for the mayor there.

“It's a tough, tough situation, disgusting in every sense of the word,” Mr. Edwards said.