SHERRY WASHAM OF MT. ZION DAVIDSON VILLAGE GREEN

UPDATED. There will be a “Stop the Hate Rally” this Saturday from 4 pm to 5:30 pm on the Davidson Village Green. Sponsored by a variety of community and religious organizations, the event follows up on commemorations of the violence in Charlottesville, Va. two years ago.

The purpose is to condemn racism, anti-Semitism, gun violence, and any other forms of hatred.

The emcees include Dawne Kakitsis and Ronald Potts. The choir from Torrence Chapel AME Zion and the youth choir from Mt. Zion United Methodist will sing.

Days after the racially motivated events in Charlottesville, Rev. Joel Simpson, the former associate pastor at Mt. Zion UMC, organized a prayer vigil on the Davidson Village Green. There was a second prayer vigil September a year ago; this will be the third.

Sadly, North Carolina has made national news over a call for violence that was spray-painted on the “spirit rock” in front of  South Davidson High, a predominantly white school in Denton, NC. The words were soon painted over, but a video went viral and the Washington Post reported on the incident, which rocked Davidson County.

Hundreds of people have attended the annual prayer vigils on the Davidson Village Green.

Attendees and clergy from Davidson and Cornelius have gone on to organize Unity in Community, a diverse discussion group that meets at the Ada Jenkins Center in Davidson and in small groups at individual homes.

The next large group meeting  ​is ​Nov. 16 at the Ada Jenkins Center​.​