Hundreds gather for unity rally in Mt. Lebanon
Luke Campbell/The Almanac Several hundred people gathered Dec. 18 in the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center plaza – many gripping green and white signs encrypted with more than 50 versions of “Welcome” and other homemade signs – to spread a community message of unity.
Luke Campbell/The Almanac A woman stands with a sign during a Dec. 18 rally in which several hundred people gathered at the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center plaza to spread a community message of unity.
Luke Campbell/The AlmanacSeveral hundred people gathered Dec. 18 in the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center plaza to spread a community message of unity.
Several hundred people gathered recently in sub-freezing temperatures in the plaza of the Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center – many gripping green and white signs encrypted with more than 50 versions of “Welcome” and other homemade signs – to spread a community message of unity.
The Dec. 18 rally was initiated by state Rep. Dan Miller, D-Mt. Lebanon, after multiple incidents that occurred throughout various locations of the Mt. Lebanon School District over the past several months.
“We’ve been a little bit concerned by a couple of the small and minority of things that have happened out here,” Miller said. “It doesn’t represent our community. We felt it was very important to come out now to make sure that everyone knows that no matter who you love, where you are from, what religion you are, the color of your skin or whether or not you have a disability, you are welcome here.”
The district discovered four small swastikas drawn into a windowsill of a bathroom at Jefferson Middle School, along with one scrawled into the mulch at Washington Elementary School in October.
“Actions based in a hateful manner because of someone’s faith, race, ability, orientation or gender is not or will not be acceptable to the leadership in this community,” township Commissioner Kelly Fraasch said in a statement on behalf of the commission. “We stand by the school district as they have had to address issues on their property that represent hateful actions to others and will assist the district whenever appropriate or necessary to prevent future occurrences.”
Joining Miller and Fraasch were other members of the commission and school board, which saw the crowd continue to grow as the rally extended into the early evening hours to discuss the importance of acceptance.
“I’m not surprised,” Miller said about the turnout. “We know our town. We know our community. We felt it was important to come out now and make sure that everyone knows that no matter who you love, where you are from, what religion you are, the color of your skin or whether or not you have a disability, you are welcome here.”
Several other speakers from local organizations – representing gender, faith and racial equality – including a unified singing of “This Land is Your Land,” led by Unitarian Universalist Church Reverend Jim Magaw.
“We represent quite a few different cultures and backgrounds,” Fraasch said. “As times have moved on, over the last few years, we’ve seen more and more people of various backgrounds, cultures and races that make Mt. Lebanon their home.
“This is our community, all of our community. We have the opportunity to stand against anything that we may see that does not represent who we are and what we are as a whole. I personally find that we are all one race, the human race.”