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Turning Point USA - a conservative/white supremacist/homophobic organization - is coming to Burlington, Vermont on October 18th. They are aiming to recruit UVM students to join their violent mission. Hilton Hotel on Battery Street has offered to host them.We are coming together as a community to send a clear message: Turning Point USA and their hatred are not welcome in our city!
If you would like to prevent these dangerous people from being given a platform and promoting white supremacist values in our community, please join us in doing the following:
1) Reserve a free seat and don't show up. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/exposing-critical-racism-tour-at-university-of-vermont-tickets-168173105285
2) Call the Hilton Hotel at (802) 658-6500 and tell them how inappropriate it is to host this group. Make it clear that you will not be giving them your business and will be actively countering if they decide not to cancel the event. You can ask to speak to the General Manager directly and/or leave a voicemail. Feel free to take creative license or just say something simple; there's power in simply the volume of calls they receive.
PLEASE call by Tuesday 9/28; if we don't receive a satisfactory response from the Hilton by then, we will escalate our response.
3) Stay tuned on this page for further action if the Hilton does not cancel the event. We know we'll need to hit them where it hurts: PR & their bottom line, and we'll do just that if we need to! In the week leading up to the event we'll reach out to their main customer base, informing guests staying with them of the Hilton's harmful decision, and we'll show up in droves day-of if the event doesn't end up canceled.
Note we've already tried to call the Hilton in, as a community member spoke with the General Manager, Pete Engard, in person to explain the harm caused by Turning Point USA. The GM's response was "We include all points of view bc we’re in a business. Hilton is a pubic venue for entertaining and hospitality."
Ironically enough, Hilton as a company claims to be in support of racial equity and LGBTQ pride: https://newsroom.hilton.com/corporate/news/living-our-hilton-values-a-message-from-hilton-ceo-chris-nassetta
https://newsroom.hilton.com/brand-communications/news/hilton-celebrates-this-june-with-lgbtq-pride-offerings)
It's not shocking that these statements are performative but this is their chance to follow through in living out the values they claim to hold.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Hilton Burlington Lake Champlain, 60 Battery St, Burlington, VT 05401, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.