Leaders Ask SoCal Communities To Peacefully Speak Out Against Hate

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Speakers at an interfaith rally in South L.A. Friday spoke out against hate in America with blunt condemnation of the recent violence in Charlottesville and of President Trump's response.

"I refuse to call him my president, he is not my president," Kenyatta Bakeer said, echoed by others at the Islah LA rally.

"The white supremacists in the white house that I'm most worried about are not Steve Bannon or Gorka, it's Donald Trump!" Dr. Melina Abdullah said.

In downtown Los Angeles, City Attorney Mike Feuer was quietly echoing their message, overcome with emotion as he recalled his father — a World War II veteran who survived capture by the Nazis.

"We should be shaking each other by the lapels and saying there is no place for complacency in our nation at this moment," he said.

In anticipation of more rallies, Feuer says the city is looking into ways other cities have created safe conditions, which could mean steps like not allowing bags or backpacks, or sometimes not allowing protests if there is a credible threat of violence.

Angelenos CBS2/KCAL9 spoke with say they understand the risk of protesting. They say they also know what could happen if they don't.

"You have to do something we can't just sit there and say nothing and do nothing," Jamie Chazen said.

Feuer pointed to data that the most significant concentration of hate groups in the U.S. is in Southern California.