There Goes the Neighborhood is a weekly series from Imagine 2050 staff highlighting upcoming nativist events.
This week, events in California, Ohio, and Washington, D.C.
On Saturday, June 24, the bigoted, self-described “western chauvinist” group Proud Boys will host a “Celebration of Western Culture” in Huntington Beach, California. The group’s visibility has increased in 2017, with multiple members involved in violent clashes at demonstrations across the country. Proud Boys co-founder Gavin McInnes was a featured speaker at an anti-Muslim rally organized by anti-Muslim grassroots group ACT for America earlier this month.
On Monday, June 26, the southwest Ohio chapter of ACT for America will host a meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio. Laurie Cardoza-Moore, leader of anti-Muslim group Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, will be a featured speaker at the event. Like many others affiliated with ACT and the larger anti-Muslim movement, Cardoza-Moore baselessly, but frequently alleges school textbooks are being used to present pro-Islam messages to students.
Also on Monday, June 26, Sara Blackwell, a lawyer and activist with ties to the organized anti-immigrant movement will hold a demonstration in Washington, D.C. According to messages Blackwell has distributed online, the rally will be held in front of the White House to oppose the H-1B guest worker visa program. After a short-lived campaign for the Florida House of Representatives, Blackwell founded the non-profit organization Protect US Workers. Blackwell has been featured in television ads produced by flagship anti-immigrant movement Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and, in March, was featured on the PBS program To the Contrary, which is hosted by strident supporter of the anti-immigrant movement Bonnie Erbé.
While a Florida resident, Blackwell may stay in the nation’s capital next week to attend FAIR’s annual media event Hold Their Feet to the Fire, taking place Wednesday, June 28 and Thursday, June 29. Now in its 11th year, FAIR is expecting nearly 60 right wing radio hosts to broadcast from Washington, D.C. While previously open to the public, FAIR’s event has become an invitation-only affair in recent years. Tellingly, white nationalists like Marcus Esptein and anti-Muslim conspiracy theorists like Frank Gaffney have still been allowed to attend.
Additional information on these events and others can be found in the map below. A red star indicates events scheduled for next week.
Know of any nativist events not located on this map? Please contact us or fill out this form: