An anti-hate rally that was canceled last week by organizers who said they didn't want to provoke a "violent situation" with supporters of Confederate monuments who also were having an event then will instead be held this Saturday.
Hayden C. Shamel, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Garland County, said the "No Home for Hate" rally will start at 2 p.m. at the party's headquarters in Hot Springs, 608 W. Grand Ave.
The event "will address how to constructively confront and address bias we experience on an everyday basis as it relates to our African American, LGBTQ, and Latino community," Shamel wrote in a statement.
The rally was postponed from Saturday, when it had been planned at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Hot Springs. The Confederate Square Group demonstrated that day at Arlington Lawn in Hot Springs National Park in support of maintaining Confederate monuments.
That rally and a counterprotest drew between 350 and 400 people. Three people were arrested. The Hot Springs mayor later commended law enforcement agencies for planning that helped facilitate a "peaceful demonstration where Americans were able to express their freedom of speech."
In canceling the rally over the weekend, Shamel said organizers didn't want to "contribute in any way, shape, or form to individuals wishing to create or provoke a violent situation in the community we all call home."