Community promotes joy, love at rally supporting Springfield, Haitian immigrants

The message of spreading joy and love was clear as attendees waved American flags and signs, and cheered in support of the city. People in several cars passing by honked their horns or shouted in support, while others protested the messages.

The city was thrust into the national spotlight when claims that Haitian immigrants — of which there is a population of 12,000 to 15,000 in Springfield — were eating pets went viral. Law enforcement and city officials have said there is zero evidence to back these claims.

Shonda Sneed of Yellow Springs said she came to Springfield because “I don’t believe in hate.” She said Haitian immigrants came here legally and are working to make their and their families’ lives better, and should not be subject to damaging rhetoric or harassment. She also denounced recent bomb threats, which have come often for city schools, government buildings, hospitals and businesses.

“They’re going through the things that my parents did in the ’50s and ’60s; it’s just a repeat. My parents always had a saying: ‘When you see something wrong and you don’t do something about it, you’re part of the problem and not part of the solution,’” Sneed said.

Sneed sported a “Resist” T-shirt, which she said she purchased in 2016 to support Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton when she ran against former President Donald Trump. She said she felt it was appropriate to wear at the rally Wednesday, saying “I refuse to go back.”

Ricardo Omarra, a Haitian immigrant who has lived in the city for less than a year, said he and a group of other Haitian immigrants didn’t plan to attend the rally, but saw it while they were shopping at a nearby store. He said he believes the Democratic party to have a “vision of love” for immigrants, so he and his friends wanted to support their message of acceptance.

Omarra said the rhetoric against Haitian immigrants is a political strategy for Republicans. He emphasized that police have found no evidence that Haitian immigrants have eaten anyone’s pets in Springfield.

Smith said that the local Democratic party has seen “nonstop harassment” and intimidation attempts, and he hoped that the rally would show that not only are party members supported, but also the entire community. He said a lot of the problems the community is facing existed before the presence of a large number of Haitian immigrants, and would exist even if they were deported, like Trump said he would do if elected president.

“It is disgusting, vile rhetoric that has exploded in the past week because Trump used it on the debate stage, but there definitely was some that was here before,” Smith said.

Richard Rutan, a German Twp. resident, said there is too much hate in the country and that “we need more love.” He said he has had positive interactions with Haitian immigrants and enjoys pieces of their culture, like their cuisine. The immigrants also have had positive affects on the economy, filling jobs, he said.

Rutan said he supports Democrats because he fears having “a fascist government,” saying that Republicans are no longer the “party of [Abraham] Lincoln.”

The rally also was attended by state and federal candidates for the November election. This included Ohio House of Representatives District 38 candidate Desiree Tims, U.S. House of Representatives District 10 candidate Amy Cox and Ohio State Senate District 10 candidate Dan McGregor.

Tims, of Dayton, said Dayton and Springfield are like siblings and she wanted to support the message that all immigrants are welcome not only in Ohio, but anywhere in the country. She said rhetoric and conspiracy theories have spread to Dayton and she thinks it’s important to counter these messages and put Ohio in the best, accurate light, opposite of what many Republican leaders like U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, Trump’s running mate, have said.

McGregor said he wanted to show his solidarity for the entire community and he feels that the work to be done on integrating the Haitian community can become lost by the “extensive number of lies being told.”

”It’s very unfortunate that the Republican party has devolved to a point where their chief campaign strategy is to exercise their First Amendment right to lie,” McGregor said. “… The people of Ohio, the people of Springfield and the people in general deserve better.”

Kyle Koehler, McGregor’s Republican opponent, told the News-Sun he has real concerns about Springfield and its Haitian population, including how it grew so large, something he blamed on staffing agencies that he said hurt the city by not warning anyone there would be more people requiring resources.

“The Republicans in Springfield have nothing against these Haitians; they have come from horrible situations, but the individuals who are responsible for bringing them here, and in my opinion are mistreating them, needs to answer to our community.”

Cox, who is running against U.S. Rep. Mike Turner of Dayton said at the rally she showed up to show her support, and said she loved the joy and energy at the rally. She said she saw many familiar faces but plenty of new ones who wanted to show out and go against the negative, baseless claims.

“It’s kind of stealing all the news right now because it is so sensational, and I think it’s designed that way,” Cox said. “It’s kind of like yelling, ‘Fire’ in a theater; it’s going to induce panic, and that is what the lies are intended to do from the Trump-Vance campaign.”

She criticized Turner for not calling Trump and Vance out on their comments, and said it’s time for someone to “be the adult in the room.”

In a statement, a Turner spokesperson said the congressman has worked with Springfield Mayor Rob Rue and city officials for more than two years, hosting city officials earlier this year in Washington, D.C., for meetings with the Biden-Harris administration in an effort to obtain funds to address concerns like health, education and policing issues.

“Clark County Democrats invited someone who doesn’t live in the district nor understand our community to further politicize this issue and brought additional divisiveness into our community,” the spokesperson said.

The Trump-Vance campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.

Wednesday night’s rally sought to promote the positive, and show that people care about and love Springfield, Smith said.

Cindy Sieck and Adriane Miller, both of Yellow Springs, said they attended the rally because they wanted to counter the hateful rhetoric and support the community. Miller, who said she worked in Springfield for several years, pointed to the need for support with a large number of bomb threats recently.

“There is good; I think we forget that a lot of times with everything going on,” Miller said. “There are good people; there are people that care.”