Atlanta City Councilmember Natalyn Archibong will join the East Atlanta Community Association and community residents for a unity rally in support of Asma Elhuni, a young Muslim American harassed in a local coffee shop in the East Atlanta Village.
Elhuni, 39, is a Georgia State University political science graduate student and a legislative intern for State Rep. Brenda Lopez. She also happens to wear a hijab.
The rally comes after a taped encounter between Elhuni and Rob Koehler of Columbus, GA, at a local coffee shop in the East Atlanta Village. As she sat at her laptop computer, Koehler began photographing Elhuni. She said that at first she tried to ignore the man. When questioned about his motives, Koehler allegedly said derogatory words to Elhuni. He also asked if she had a green card.
The rally which takes place at the East Atlanta Village Farmers Market, 561 Flat Shoals Ave SE., will feature special presentations, words of hope and encouragement, poetry and acknowledgements by several community leaders and stakeholders. Councilmember Natalyn Archibong, who’s council district the event will take place in, has played an integral role in supporting and creating an atmosphere of inclusiveness and tolerance in the East Atlanta community. She has worked tirelessly to ensure that incidents such as these are exposed, addressed and become a thing of the past.
Others scheduled to appear at the rally include: Senator Vincent Fort, State Representative for the 39th district, Education Group comprised of Robin Christian, David White (former and current Burgess Peterson Academy principals, respectively) and Matt Westmoreland (APS Board of Education representative)
Imam Plemon El-Amin, Imam Emeritus of the Atlanta Masjid will bring words on behalf of the Muslim faith community
Elhuni videotaped the encounter in return and it has since gone viral on Facebook.
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