‘Day of Unity’ announced for Saturday, August 19th

NEW ALBANY, August 15, 2017 – In response to recent white supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Floyd County Democratic Party is partnering with SoINdivisible to host a community-wide ‘Day of Unity’ on Saturday, August 19th. Organizers are inviting community members to show solidarity against hatred, bigotry and racism through a series of events and actions.

“Bigotry and racism have no place in our country,” stated Floyd County Democratic Chair Adam Dickey. “In organizing a ‘Day of Unity,’ we hope to bring community members together in solidarity as we confront and denounce the hatred and violence we witnessed by white supremacist groups in Charlottesville, Virginia.”    

As part of the ‘Day of Unity,’ organizers will hold a community forum beginning at 12:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Carriage House located at 1015 E. Main Street in New Albany. The forum will feature a moment of reflection on the recent violence, bystander training to prepare citizens to confront incidents of racism and hate speech, and discuss other tools and actions available to community members to promote inclusion and cultural understanding.

“Our goal is to provide community members the tools to go beyond the violence witnessed this past weekend,” stated Carrie Klaus, an organizer with SoINdivisible. “We want to empower individuals  to make a difference in their local community by confronting racism and other bigotry before it has a chance to grow and fester.”

As a sign of solidarity against bigotry and racism, organizers are also urging community members to wear blue on Saturday.

“Blue is a calming color representing freedom, trust and unity,” stated Klaus. “Our goal is for community members to illustrate their solidarity against bigotry and racism by wearing blue clothing as an outward sign of support.”

Organizers will also offer social media graphics community members can post to their Facebook and Twitter accounts on Saturday as another symbol of support. Those graphics will be available on both the Democratic Party’s and SoINdivisible’s Facebook pages.   

Another project being undertaken is a ‘From Floyd County with love’  offering message of support which allows community members a way to show their for the residents of Charlottesville, Virginia. Individuals are encouraged to write messages of support on the oversized banner which will be mailed to the City of Charlottesville.

“What happened in Charlottesville could have happened in any town or city across America,” stated Dickey. “We want to show our support for the residents of Charlottesville who have endured this tragedy by sending a care package of well wishes.”

The organizations will have the message of support banner available from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. at Inner Spring Yoga located at 137 E. Market Street in New Albany. The message of support will also be available at the forum from 12:30 p.m. until 2:30 p.m.

Those interested in learning more about the ‘Day of Unity’ can contact Floyd County Democratic Party headquarters via telephone at 812-725-2020.

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