White supremacists have civil liberties too

Pennsylvania as a whole has never really been a standout state in the civil rights department…. Pennsylvania as a whole has never really been a standout state in the civil rights department. Somewhere along the line, the commonwealth even earned a derogatory slogan (by northern standards): “Pittsburgh on one end, Philadelphia on the other, and Alabama in between.” York County, in particular, has developed somewhat of a legacy of racial tension, and that legacy will continue Monday.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Yvette Kane gave a green light to the Mississippi-based Nationalist Movement to proceed with a rally, parade and protest in downtown York. The event will take place Jan. 20 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day – and pay tribute to Henry Schaad, a white police officer who was killed during the city’s infamous 1969 race riots.

The riots have put a blemish on the city’s face that refuses to fade. In 2001, York mayor Charlie Robertson – who was a police officer at the time of the riots – was charged with providing ammunition to several men who then shot and killed Lillie Belle Allen, a black woman visiting her family in York. As evidenced by the ongoing trials and rallies, the effects of the race riots are still being felt after more than 30 years.

Monday’s rally and parade will last roughly 4 1/2 hours, and will receive police assistance. The city requires a permit if an event will host more than 25 people, but the Nationalist Movement dodged the permit by arguing that only 12 people are preparing to attend. The event is not exclusive, however, and there is no limit on the number of people who are allowed to attend.

It goes without saying that the efforts of white supremacist groups such as the Nationalist Movement are despicable. Their goals and initiatives are beyond backward, and they insist on preserving a past that embarrasses the rest of the nation. But at the same time, they are within their rights to march, and they are allowed to protest Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Constitution protects the rights of all Americans, even if their views are divisive and destructive. White supremacists are entitled to their civil liberties, and the city is right to allow them to speak.

That said, the Nationalist Movement is an embarrassment to the nation. But the very fact that their embarrassing views are given a platform for a few hours on a Monday afternoon is a tribute to the same.