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Tennessee’s governor condemns white nationalist march through Nashville

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Julieta MartinelliWPLN News (File)
Anti-racist signs were prepared as a counter-protest to white supremacists in 2017 in Tennessee.
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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has joined Democratic officials in condemning the dozens of self-proclaimed white nationalists who marched through downtown Nashville over the weekend.

“I think we’ve seen anti–Semitism rise up all across this country, unfortunately and sadly,” the governor said Monday. “We should stand against it at every time and every place.”

On Saturday, members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front wore matching uniforms, with ski masks and sunglasses to obscure their faces, and carried American and Confederate flags.

Witnesses say they chanted the Nazi “Seig Heil” salute and called for mass deportations of nonwhite people.

This is the second time this year white supremacists have marched in Nashville. In February, a group carried flags with swastikas around the capitol. As of 2021, there were 28 active hate groups in Tennessee, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Nashville’s leaders, including Vice Mayor Angie Henderson and Mayor Freddie O’Connell, immediately spoke out against the most-recent march.

The Tennessee Democratic Party also released a statement condemning the march.

As of Monday evening, Republican U.S. Senators Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn, as well as Nashville’s three congressmen, have remained silent.

Char Daston

Char Daston is a reporter and newscast writer for WPLN. Char got his start in public radio as an intern at WYSO public radio in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he answered questions sent in by listeners for a program called WYSO Curious. He went on to work at St. Louis Public Radio and WBEZ Chicago, where he produced the daily talk show Reset and reported for the education desk. His work has also appeared in Curious City, Chicago Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Char attended college and grad school at the University of Chicago, where he wrote his master’s thesis on the politics of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. As a journalist, he is interested in the ways big political decisions and historical events shape our everyday lives. He loves to learn about education, the arts, activism and the ways people help one another. Unable to settle on one creative project, Char enjoys writing poetry, plays and video essays in his spare time. You’ll likely find him rushing to choir rehearsal or seeking out Nashville’s best Thai and Korean food.

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