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Hundreds In Memphis Gather To Protest Racism, Hate

Posted at 4:04 PM, Aug 13, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-13 17:04:27-04

Hundreds of people in Memphis have gathered at a Confederate statue to stand against racism, bigotry, and hate after a violent clashes erupted between white supremacists and counter protesters at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Commercial Appeal reported the crowd in Memphis also continued a call to remove the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a former Confederate general, slave trader, and Ku Klux Klan member.

Activist Tami Sawyer said before the gathering Saturday evening that the violence in Virginia "isn't going to scare anyone from speaking up for equal justice."

Three people were killed Saturday and dozens injured as white nationalists protested Charlottesville's decision to remove a Confederate monument.

Sawyer said Confederate statues give power to the white supremacist movement, which speaks to why they should come down.