Buffalo Allies of Bozeman endorses rally supporting diversity on all levels - 2PM Sunday in Bozeman

Buffalo Allies of Bozeman (see http://www.buffaloallies.org) has endorsed a rally 2PM on Sunday in Bozeman calling for a "Hate-Free Bozeone" in response to white supremacist activity in our community.

As a community organization, we believe it is extremely important for us to take a stand against those who would set an arbitrary line against people with a different skin color, a different religion, a different sexual orientation, or any of the other unjust fence lines that people have set up to keep people from feeling safe and welcome on our streets.

Therefore, we endorse the work of those in our community who have been organizing this march as well as those by anyone else who take a stand against hatred and a stand for embracing diversity. Indeed, the very mission of Buffalo Allies of Bozeman calls for a diversity of strategies and tactics, and so we are excited by all the diverse energy in its diverse forms in support of a diverse community.

Some information on Sunday's Rally:

From the organizers' Facebook page:

To respond to the neo-nazi activity on campus and in the community, we have organized immediate action. We are going to march and rally on Nov 1, gathering at 8th and Cleveland at 2pm. From there, we will march down 8th to Main Street, gathering at Willson School (on the steps if nice weather, tentatively in the auditorium if lousy weather (permit pending)). We have a PA system and will likely have several speakers lined up for the rally.

Let's start spreading the word far and wide!!!!

For those interested in joining in on the planning side, we are having a meeting this coming Saturday (Oct 24) at the public library (small conference room) at noon. We will finalize plans and identify volunteers, etc. Hope to see you there!

From organizing emails:

Again, we are set to March/Rally on Nov 1, assembling at 8th and Cleveland at 2pm. We will march down 8th to Main Street, rallying at Willson School. We have a few more details to share based on today's meeting. Feel free to pass this info along to other marchers:

1. This march/rally is PEACEFUL with a central message: Bozeman, MT is a hate-free zone. Remember during the march/rally that the Creativity Movement people will likely be around and looking to get a rise out of us. Please refrain from yelling at them, name-calling, etc. There will be a police presence at the march and you may be asked to leave if you are confrontational. Let's rise above and promote peace and unity!

2. TRAINING: Lois Van Leer will hold a peacekeeping training tentatively on Saturday--those who are interested in this training, please contact me! More info to come!

3. PARKING: For your safety, please consider parking downtown (perhaps at the parking garage) and walking to the assembly area on 8th and Cleveland.

4. SIGNS: We will hold a sign-making party on Saturday, time and location to be determined. Tentatively mark your calendars to come make a few signs between 1 and 4pm (you should still have to time to get ready for trick-or-treating!). We hope to engage many students in signing making through the week too...

5. FLYERS: Once the logo (Hate Free BoZone) is finished, we will have flyers to distribute widely. We will send an alert around when you can come pick up flyers. Hopefully Monday! Keep us posted Ron!

6. SPEAKERS: We have identified several possible speakers. Travis McAdams from the Montana Human Rights Network is on board. We should have others lined up shortly. After the main speakers, we will ask folks to come up and share their name, their ethnicity, religious/spiritual background, or other personal information to show how diverse we are here in Bozo! Keep us posted Speakers sub-committee!

7. VOLUNTEERS: We are still looking for volunteers to help with street closures. If you are interested in helping out, we need folks to wear vests (provided) and monitor traffic at intersections...let me know if you want to help!

8. SPREAD THE WORD: Please help us get the word out and encourage as many folks to come out in support of "embracing diversity." This is a non-partisan movement so we hope to see folks of all persuasions join in against hate in our town. I will work to get the word out to the press, Chamber of Commerce, SWIMBIA, etc. Consider writing a letter to the editor of the Chronicle or MSU Exponent.

There were a lot of great ideas at the meeting--music for the march/rally, hanging a banner on Main Street to publicize, linking this march to other relevant events in town (e.g., Holocaust exhibit at the Emerson), etc. Keep the ideas coming and let's see what we can accomplish for Nov 1st!

Thanks for all the effort and support!