The Armory Owner Canceled the Event!

We, the undersigned, are residents of Western New York. We are signing this petition to oppose the use of the Main Street Armory as a venue for the “Reawaken America” Tour. We urge Scott Donaldson, the owner of the venue, to cancel the event. We commit to engaging in business and peaceful practices to prevent this event from being hosted in Monroe County, New York. We have taken this position for the following reasons:

1.  On Saturday, May 14, 2022 a young, white man shot thirteen people and killed ten of them in Buffalo, New York. Following his actions, information was disclosed to the public that he had written a racist “manifesto,” stating his intent to kill Black people.[1] He had also considered shooting and killing Black residents of Monroe County.

2.  This man espoused paranoid racist conspiracy theories such as the “White (or Great) Replacement Theory[2] [3],” which have been promoted by numerous media and social media outlets. The “Great Replacement Theory” claims that members of minority groups will replace white people, and that steps must be taken to prevent that from happening. The theory is frequently linked with violent demonstrations.[4]

3.  Michael Flynn, one of the main featured speakers of the event, is one of the promoters of violence to preserve the power of those he supports.[5] His speeches and communications are also laced with veiled and not-so-veiled messages of hatred and division against Jews and Muslims. [6] [7]

4.  Other speakers on this tour have espoused hate-filled theories during the tour.[8]

5.   A Coalition of Christian Leaders has condemned the tour, noting it promotes violence.[9]

6.  This tour is scheduled for August 12 and 13, the anniversary of the Charlottesville demonstration and violence initiated by white supremacist groups. Mr. Flynn is aligned with these groups.

7.  The “Reawaken America” tour is likely to draw white supremacists and other members of hate groups from around the northeast to our community.

8.  Even the name, “Reawaken,” has been used in hate messaging, such as by the Nazis[10].

9.  We, the undersigned, condemn the event, the use of the Main Street Armory for the event, and your agreement to host the event. Even if you had not been aware of the type of event you had agreed to host, you have been made aware of its nature through phone calls and emails by members of the public since May 16, 2022.  We urge our community to boycott events at the Main Street Armory unless and until this event is canceled.

[1] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-is-great-replacement-theory-and-how-does-it-fuel-racist-violence
[2] https://www.npr.org/2022/05/16/1099034094/what-is-the-great-replacement-theory
[3] “Great replacement theory” and “White replacement theory" posit the existence of a plot to change America's racial composition by methodically enacting policies that reduce white Americans' political power. The conspiracies encompass strains of anti-Semitism as well as racism and anti-immigrant sentiment. https://www.axios.com/2021/09/29/white-replacement-theory-gains-ground-among-gop
[4] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-is-great-replacement-theory-and-how-does-it-fuel-racist-violence
[5] https://www.salon.com/2022/03/17/donald-trump-michael-flynn-call-for-violence--theyre-not-kidding-but-the-media-doesnt-care/
[6] https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/12/20/trumps-national-security-advisors-twitter-account-shows-extent-anti-muslim-beliefs
[7] https://www.diversityinc.com/michael-t-flynn-named-trumps-national-security-advisor/
[8] https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/opinion/2022/04/15/oregon-leaders-rolled-out-red-carpet-hate-reawaken-america-tour/65350085007/
[9] https://act.faithfulamerica.org/sign/reawaken-megachurches?source=med-oh
10] https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/143; https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2014/januaryfebruary/feature/culture-war