Years later hate still trying to sprout roots
Thu, 08/20/2020 - 2:41pm
Mike Eldred
“Hate does not grow well in the rocky soil of Vermont.”
That slogan was first coined in 1982, as the Ku Klux Klan was readying for a rally in Wilmington. How the people around the valley responded to that rally, by counter-protesting the KKK with a large, peaceful showing of force, has become one of the defining moments of Deerfield Valley history. By the end of that May weekend the Klan organizers had been sent scurrying from the area and local organizers and police showed how peaceful, organized response can lead to the triumph of tolerance and love over division and hate.