Planned Sunday rally to remember Atlanta shooting victims

In response to the recent killing of eight people by a lone gunman in Atlanta on March 16, a “Stop Hate Rally Against Hate and White Nationalist Terrorism” will be held this Sunday.

Organized by the Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus, Alabama Democratic Party, the rally will be held March 28 at Lincoln Bridgeforth Park in Athens starting at 2 p.m. Former Madison mayoral candidate Hanu Karlapalem serves as the chairman of the Caucus.

“The surge in attacks on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and their descendants in our country is shameful,” Karlapalem said. “Generations of people from Asian countries and the Pacific islands have helped to build America, making countless contributions, and helping to defend us in times of conflict. Bigotry and ignorance lead to no good. They hurt not just their targets, but our entire country.”

“On March 16, a lone white gunman killed eight people. Seven of the people this person targeted and killed were women, and six of those women were Asian Americans,” he added. “This rally will remember not only the sisters lost in the Georgia killing spree, but also all AAPI women who face hyper sexualization and violence.”

Karlapalem said the Caucus will be joined by the Limestone County Democratic Party, NAACP Alabama State Conference, NAACP Limestone County Branch, Black Lives Matter Athens, Black Lives Matter Huntsville, Asian American Veterans, local pastors, United Women of Color, Moms Demand Action Huntsville, Project Say Something, GLSEN Greater Huntsville, Alabama Democratic Party, Hispanic Caucus of the Alabama Democratic Party, and the broader Asian-American community in North Alabama “to stand in solidarity and remember all of those we have lost their lives to hate, racialized violence, and white nationalist terrorism.”