NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Across the country and in national media, many folks are asking a stinging question: What's wrong with the United States?

That thought came, of course, as a reaction to violence committed by white nationalists and members of the so-called Alt Right this weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia, who were there to rally against the removal of a Confederate monument. In what federal lawmakers have labeled an act of domestic terrorism, a 20-year-old Ohio man allegedly drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one woman.

But that hate-fueled chaos isn't going unanswered—at least in the New Brunswick area.

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Activists plan to hold a “vigil against hate,” to stand in solidarity with Charlottesville and the victims, at 8 p.m. tonight, Aug. 13, at the Reformed Church of Highland Park, 19 S 2nd Ave., Highland Park. The candlelight vigil is meant to bring people “together against white supremacy, anti-Semitism, hatred, racism, violence and all forms of bigotry,” according to the Central Jersey Coalition Against Endless War, which advertised the event in its weekly email.

“It's been a terrible weekend – filled with white supremacy, hatred, violence, and bigotry,” the organizers of the vigil wrote on its Facebook page. “We know that this is not new or merely historical, but alive, validated by [President Donald Trump's] administration, and deeply impacting our communities.”

Organizers noted that they also plan to stand for love, peace and justice at the event.

The New Brunswick Area NAACP and the ACLU People Power Middlesex County, which is a group of local volunteers that doesn't represent the actual American Civil Liberties Union, are coordinating the vigil.

Similar events are scheduled for cities across the country today, according to online posts.





For more information, email acluppmiddlesex@gmail.com.