G.J. McCarthy photo

From left, Marlon Jordan, Mark Haim, First Ward Councilwoman Almeta Crayton, Dan Viets and Rod Kelly discuss with police an upcoming march by the National Socialist Movement during a meeting yesterday at the Columbia Police Department headquarters. The police department organized the meeting.

Community leaders are frantically working to come up with ways to respond to a weekend march planned by a neo-Nazi group, hoping to limit the group’s audience as much as possible.

Protest plan Members of the National Socialists Movement have permission to march in red-shaded areas below from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Source: City of Columbia

Lora Wegman graphic

About 50 people yesterday packed a conference room at Columbia police headquarters to discuss community preparations for a march set for Saturday by the National Socialist Movement. Police encouraged everyone to avoid the demonstration.

The National Socialist Movement, based in Minneapolis, claims to be America’s largest and fastest-growing neo-Nazi group. A parade permit filed with the Columbia Police Department stated that 20 to 50 people will "protest the promotion of Marxism by the University of Missouri."

The group applied for and received permission to march downtown near the MU campus between noon and 5 p.m. Saturday.

City officials, pastors, MU officials and community activists threw around ideas for more than an hour yesterday. Another meeting is planned for 6 p.m. tonight at St. Paul AME Church, 501 Park Ave.

First Ward Councilwoman Almeta Crayton said the most important thing is for adults to make sure teenagers and young adults do not attend the march and try to take matters into their own hands.

"Come Saturday, I want you in between a kid and downtown," Crayton said at the meeting. "I’m dealing with 15-, 16-, 17-year-old men who are angry."

But Mary Ratliff, president of the Columbia chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said her group is planning to confront the marchers.

"We’re not willing to sit here and let the Klan march through," Ratliff said. "The NAACP is a nonviolent organization, but we’re an organization of action."

Some ideas that have been suggested include:

● Holding a celebration at Douglass Park with music and food while the marchers are in town.

● Distributing T-shirts, buttons and fliers to let people know that Columbia does not support hate. Catch phrases could be "Not In Our City" or "Be Cool."

● Holding a news conference Thursday morning to draw attention to people against the march.

● Designating Saturday as a citywide "Tolerance Day" or "Inclusion Day."

● Temporarily renaming Ninth Street "Freedom Way" on Saturday. Mayor Darwin Hindman described that effort at last night’s Columbia City Council meeting as "emergency street renaming."

Hindman advised the community to make plans quickly. "We don’t have much time," Hindman said. "We just don’t have it. These people will be here Saturday."

Roger Worthington, chief diversity officer for MU, said he is encouraged by the cooperation.

"It seems there is an unprecedented response and that people have come together in this community like never before to make something positive out of this outside threat," Worthington said.

Worthington said a pledge drive has been established so people can donate money for every minute the neo-Nazis march in Columbia. The fundraiser’s Web site is www.tolerance.homestead.com.

Matthew LeBlanc of the Tribune’s staff contributed to this report.

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