Residents rally against incidents of violence and racism in Princeton

A racially diverse crowd of at least 50 local residents marched through Princeton to protest racism and violence yesterday afternoon.

The demonstrators, who carried signs reading "No racism, no violence, not in our town," marched from the Jewish Center on Nassau Street to the steps of Princeton Borough Hall, where they heard speeches from local political and religious leaders beneath the Princeton Battle Monument.

"The people who are here know that racism still exists, and racism exists in Princeton," said Linda Oppenheim, one of the rally's main organizers, in her introductory speech.

Other speakers included Princeton Borough Mayor Mildred Trotman and the Rev. Carlton Branscomb, who argued in a rising cadence that "there is no such thing as more than one race."

Branscomb, a pastor at First Baptist Church and president of the Princeton Clergy Association, urged audience members "to fight for the presence of peace and love" in the United States and around the world.

People must "live together as brothers and sisters" to alleviate local gang problems and fight injustice in national politics, he added.

Oppenheim, a representative of the community organization Not in Our Town, said she conceived of the rally last fall after police arrested black Princeton High School students to question them about an attack on Hispanics they were believed to have witnessed.

The arrests were "a very deep and painful reminder" that racism is common in Princeton, Oppenheim said in an interview.

Mayor Trotman said in an interview after the rally that Mercer County is responding to complaints of racism in police actions by producing a handbook on individual rights for distribution in public areas.

Her office will also initiate "sensitivity" training, previously given only to police, for all public employees.

"We have to stay at it ... and do what we can" to fight racism, Trotman said, calling yesterday's rally "a step in the right direction."

Bob Karp, a rally participant and pediatrics professor at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, said that the Princeton area and the University have "a very long racist history." He noted that Princeton is sometimes called "the northernmost Southern town in America."

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Another rally participant, 21-year-old Fabiola Herrera, agreed that "there are problems" of racism and violence in Princeton.

Herrera said she came to the United States from Mexico when she was 14 to join family members in the country.

But she and other Hispanics are sometimes looked down upon in town, Herrera said, adding that "people from other countries have to go through that."

Adjusting to life in the United States "was hard," she said, "but I got used to it."

Though Oppenheim said she was satisfied with the event's turnout, she noted that its longterm success "will be determined afterwards" by whether the community takes action.

Not in Our Town, which Oppenheim described as an "interfaith, interracial social action group," runs community programs to advocate racial diversity. Its recent activities include a volunteer program in schools and a film series at the Princeton Public Library.

The rally was cosponsored by the Coalition for Peace Action, the Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Princeton Clergy Association.