Columbus Black leaders organize counterprotest after neo-Nazi march in their city

By Char Adams, NBC

A group of Black leaders and locals marched through Columbus, Ohio, in a unity rally Sunday, one day after neo-Nazis walked through the same streets carrying Nazi flags and chanting racial slurs and white nationalist slogans.

The Rev. Derrick Holmes, senior pastor at Columbus’ Union Grove Baptist Church, said he received frantic calls from members of his congregation as people walked along North High Street dressed in all black with red masks, carrying black flags with swastikas on them. They yelled, “Bow down, [N-word]!” and other racist chants as they made their way through the state capital’s Short North Arts District.

“Two members were actually in the Short North area while that was happening and their prevailing feeling was fear,” Holmes said. “There was a feeling of sadness. They’re older … so it really harkened them back to a time they thought that the country had graduated from.”

President Joe Biden condemned the march, and White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said Nazism is “hostile to everything the United States stands for.” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther and other city leaders condemned the neo-Nazis in statements and on social media. 

But Black locals like Holmes wanted to do more and send a message of solidarity, they said. The 100 Black Men of Central Ohio, a service organization that mentors young Black men, along with attorney Sean Walton Jr., Holmes and other locals, joined for the counter-rally Sunday afternoon. 

Keep reading to learn how dozens of men showed up for the cause.

Take a tour of exhibits and articles about white supremacy.

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