HOW IT STARTED

In August of 2017, we watched in horror as the white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia turned violent. What unfolded reverberated across the entire country.

A life was lost, dozens were injured, and communities everywhere were left asking what this moment meant for all of us. Like so many others, we felt the weight of the hate, violence, and urgency. The question wasn’t about whether we were going to do anything, rather, when?

Across the country, communities were gathering, lighting candles, holding space, and choosing connection over division. These were declarations that hate would not define us, and community still mattered. Miriam reached out to Darrell Pope of the Hutchinson NAACP to see what was being planned locally. The response was simple, but powerful, “We’ll do what you’re doing.”

We didn’t have a formal plan, funding, or even a banner. What we had was a belief that it would matter even if only four people showed up. Four hundred people showed up.

With a bed sheet as our banner and candles in hand, we gathered for “Hutch Against Hate.” What we expected to be a short vigil turned into hours of conversation, neighbors staying, listening, sharing, and processing together. People didn’t want to leave.

It was more than what had happened in Charlottesville. It was about us, who we are, and who we choose to be. Before the night ended, people began asking us something we weren’t expecting. What’s next?

It became a responsibility we couldn’t ignore. From that moment forward, Hutch in Harmony was born.