A national vigil against violence, organized by Bend the Arc Jewish Action and aimed at Donald Trump’s candidacy, will include events in downtown San Francisco and San Leandro on Tuesday, June 21, the anniversary of the 1964 killings of three civil rights workers in Mississippi.
The organization also plans events that day in New York, Los Angeles and Austin, Texas, and said supporters in other cities will take part in events focused on combating extremism and bigotry in the presidential campaign.
The vigil is part of Bend the Arc’s efforts to defeat presumptive Republican presidential candidate Trump, who in December called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”
Bend the Arc CEO Stosh Cotler announced plans for the vigil at a June 6 conference in Washington, D.C.
“I think our message, that Jews are standing together to reject Trump’s hateful and violent politics, is very resonant with folks in the Bay Area and nationally,” she said.
June 21 marks 52 years since the three civil rights activists — two white Jews, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, and James Chaney, a black Christian — were killed in Mississippi by the Ku Klux Klan.
“By mobilizing voters to denounce Donald Trump’s campaign, Bend the Arc will honor the legacy of these civil rights heroes and carry on their fight against violence and oppression in American society,” the organization said in a release.
The Bay Area events will take place at 6 p.m. Registration and details on the locations are available at www.WeveSeenThisBefore.org.
Bend the Arc has compared anti-immigrant rhetoric in the presidential campaign to what Jewish immigrants experienced a century ago.
“Last fall, the media was still treating Trump like a joke. But we weren’t laughing. We called out his rhetoric and threats for what they were: violent reminders of some of the worst moments of the 20th century,” Cotler said in her June 6 speech. — patricia corrigan