A few months ago, I wrote about how a small community in Ohio was fighting back against the rise of hate crimes by creating a diversity task force. Last weekend the neighborhood of Midtown, in Minneapolis held a day long workshop entitled, “More Than Skin Deep: Uprooting White Privilege and White Supremacy One Cell at a Time” at the local Young Women’s Christian Association, YWCA. The workshop was designed “for white people who already have an understanding of white privilege and white supremacy (WP/WS) and want to learn more about how to dismantle WP/WS through embodiment work, education, visioning and practical action.” The workshop was completely booked, filling all 40 seats available. The event went off without a hitch and was very successful by all accounts. But there is cause for cheer not only for the workshop that went on inside the YWCA but also for the events that took place outside.

A week before the workshop, a representative from a local branch of the neo-Nazi organization, the National Socialist Movement, NSM approached the YWCA to inquire about the event. YWCA employees immediately called community leaders and organizers to set up an emergency meeting. Over 100 community residents attended the meeting aimed at organizing a counter protest to the NSM protest. On the day of the workshop, a whopping 4 NSM members showed up to protest, stating that Minnesota’s white community should be proud of its heritage. The 4 NSM members were met by over 200 counter protesters who hurled eggs and tomatoes at the neo-Nazi’s. The police had to be called in to save the NSM members who were outnumbered at least 50 to 1. The neo-Nazi’s soon departed and needed a police guard to get back to their car. Dan Gannon, the counter protest organizer was proud of his community for taking a stand against hate. “We stood together against a message of hate, against a violent message of white supremacy and neo-Nazi politics that is not welcome in this neighborhood,” he said. Many of the counter protesters were notified of the protest via Facebook which is rapidly becoming an essential organizing tool.

The residents of Midtown must be commended for a fantastic show of unity and force last weekend. Not only did they run a successful anti-white nationalism workshop, but they also contributed to a massive counter protest against neo-Nazi’s. With such a low number of NSM members turning up for the protest, it is an indication that their numbers are beginning to decline. One neighborhood resident echoed these thoughts in a local newspaper when he stated “Frankly I’m surprised there were only four of them. I guess it’s a good sign that maybe racism is on its way out.” Let’s hope that this is the case.