CONWAY, SC, August 8, 2019 — The Young Democrats of Horry County (YDHC) and the Horry County Democratic Party (HCDP) today condemned the action of individuals who reportedly hurled racist taunts at demonstrators at a vigil Tuesday evening who were remembering the victims of the weekend’s mass shootings in El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH.
As some 30 people stood in Valor Park, heads bowed, someone in a passing vehicle screamed “White Power,” stunning the demonstrators who were just beginning to listen to a reading of the shooting victims’ names, according to news reports. Then, according to one vigil demonstrator, they returned and yelled, “You won’t take our guns.”
“This is a sad commentary about our community that individuals would express such hate, apparently hoping to intimidate peaceful demonstrators,” said Stacie Pearman, YDHC president and Don Kohn, HCDP chair. “We call upon our city’s leaders to condemn such action and make it clear that such divisive and hateful actions are not welcome in Myrtle Beach.”
Furthermore, said Pearman and Kohn, “Nobody is trying to take anybody’s guns. All that we are asking for is sensible legislation to tighten background investigations of gun purchasers and ban the sale to the public of weapons of war.”
YDHC and HCDP issued the following statement:
“On August 6, 2019, at the Grand Stand Action Together prayer vigil honoring the victims of the recent tragedies, a man screamed from a passing car, “White Power!”. We urge the City of Myrtle Beach to investigate this incident, condemn white supremacists, and make it clear that such despicable actions are unwelcome in our community.
“Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Myrtle Beach, please don’t be silent.”
That such an incident would occur is an indication of the influence that President Trump’s continuing racist comments have across our nation, said Pearman and Kohn. “By his actions, the president is giving comfort to those who espouse white supremacy,” they said. “This kind of divisive and hateful rhetoric must stop.”
