SR137

A Senate Resolution condemning the violence, bigotry, and hatred displayed by the white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 11th and 12th, 2017, and reaffirming the State’s commitment to respecting and protecting ethnic, racial, and religious diversity.

Whereas, On August 11th and 12th, 2017, a group of white supremacists, which included members of the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis, gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia, pursuant to a permit to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee; and

Whereas, As a result of the actions of the white supremacists, violent clashes with counter protestors ensued, resulting in dozens of injuries, the death of a woman, Heather Heyer, when a car driven by a white supremacist plowed through a crowd of people, and the death of two Virginia State Police officers, H. Jay Cullen and Berke M. M. Bates, whose helicopter crashed while patrolling the scene of the protest; and

Whereas, People from many walks of life throughout the nation quickly condemned the hatred and bigotry displayed and the damage and violence incited by the white supremacists in Charlottesville; and

Whereas, In an address to the nation, on June 11, 1963, President John F. Kennedy recognized that “[d]ifficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. . . In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics”; and

Whereas, President Ronald Reagan, speaking at the 1981 national convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), said, “A few isolated groups in the backwater of American life still hold perverted notions of what America is all about. Recently in some places in the nation there’s been a disturbing reoccurrence of bigotry and violence . . . I would like to address a few remarks to those groups who still adhere to senseless racism and religious prejudice . . . I would say to them, ‘You are the ones who are out of step with our society. You are the ones who willfully violate the meaning of the dream that is America. And this country, because of what it stands for, will not stand for your conduct’’’; and

Whereas, President George W. Bush, speaking at the 2000 national convention of the NAACP, stated, “For our nation, there is no denying the truth that slavery is a blight on our history, and that racism, despite all the progress, still exists today”; and

Whereas, On March 18, 2008, President Barack Obama stated, “I have asserted a firm conviction, a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people, that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union”; and

Whereas, In keeping with this State’s tradition of welcoming diversity and tolerance, organizations throughout New Jersey hosted vigils in the days following the Charlottesville protests in response to the violence and damage; and

Whereas, New Jersey is one of the most ethnically, racially, and religiously diverse states in the nation, with foreign-born individuals comprising one in five residents, according to the United States Census Bureau, and with one in four residents identifying as Black, African American, Latino, or Asian; and

Whereas, Languages other than English are common in New Jersey, including Spanish, Indic, Italian, Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, and many others, and according to the Rutgers’ School of Public Affairs and Administration, almost 30 percent of the State’s population over five years of age speaks a language other than English; and

Whereas, The residents of New Jersey also have a long tradition of respecting and honoring the freedom to pursue a religious belief and to be diverse in our faiths, including Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Islamic, and Eastern religious faiths, as well as other faith-based beliefs; and

Whereas, New Jersey’s commitment to freedom and liberty for all persons dates to before the Civil War, when more than 50,000 slaves were led to freedom by operators of the Underground Railroad in New Jersey, which rapidly expanded with the assistance of the Quaker population in southwestern New Jersey; and

Whereas, This rich diversity has helped to make New Jersey a stronger, more vital and robust State, one in which bigotry and hatred are never acceptable and have no place in our shared value system; and

Whereas, It is fitting and proper for this House to condemn the violence, bigotry, and hatred displayed by the white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 11th and 12th, 2017, and to reaffirm this State’s commitment to respecting and protecting ethnic, racial, and religious diversity; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:

1. This House condemns the violence, bigotry, and hatred displayed by the white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 11th and 12th, 2017, and reaffirms the State’s commitment to respecting and protecting ethnic, racial, and religious diversity.

2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the President and Vice President of the United States, and every member of Congress elected from this State.

STATEMENT

This resolution condemns the violence, bigotry, and hatred displayed by the white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 11th and 12th, 2017, and reaffirms the State’s commitment to respecting and protecting ethnic, racial, and religious diversity. On August 11th and 12th, 2017, a group of white supremacists, which included members of the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis, gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia, pursuant to a permit to protest the removal of a statute of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Because of the actions of the white supremacists, violent clashes with counter protestors ensued, resulting in dozens of injuries and three deaths.