--- description: White nationalist and neo-Nazi groups marched though streets in two Tennessee towns Saturday as part of 'White Lives Matter' protests title: White Nationalists Hold 'White Lives Matter' Rallies in Tennessee image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5306071be42f5d7e/6988e3c1096a945f926a032b/shelbyville-white-lives-matter-rally.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tennessee](/tag/tennessee/) ## Tennessee Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # White Nationalists Hold 'White Lives Matter' Rallies in Tennessee by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 28, 2017 9:46 PM CUT  SHELBYVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 28: White Lives Matter protestors demonstrate during a rally SHELBYVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 28: White Lives Matter protestors demonstrate during a rallyJoe Buglewicz—Getty Images by [Aric Jenkins](/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 28, 2017 9:46 PM CUT [White nationalist](http://time.com/4904940/donald-trump-white-nationalists-gibbs-von-drehle/ "undefined") groups marched though streets in two Tennessee towns Saturday as part of “White Lives Matter” rallies. Demonstrators in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro were met by hundreds of counter-protesters, moderated by a number of law enforcement officers in riot gear, [according to _USA Today_. ](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/10/28/2-tennessee-towns-brace-white-nationalist-rallies-counter-protests/809645001/ "undefined") Videos posted on Twitter show a number of chants carried out by the white nationalist demonstrators, including “White lives matter,” “Jews will not replace us” and the Nazi Germany slogan “Blood and soil.” Counter-protesters attempted to disrupt the chants, saying “We will replace you,” as well as singing “Amazing Grace” and playing Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech over a PA system. > [](https://twitter.com/xshularx/status/924312989150466048) > [](https://twitter.com/JackSmithIV/status/924318015105257472) > [](https://twitter.com/nikkijunewicz/status/924321462835666949) Tennessee officials were aware of the rallies and had warned residents to avoid the areas ahead of the events. “We want to send a really clear message that these folks are not welcome in Tennessee,” Gov. Bill Haslam told reporters Friday in Gatlinburg, [according to the Tennessean.](http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2017/10/27/white-lives-matter-rally-gov-bill-haslam-says-white-supremacists-not-welcome/807506001/ "undefined") “If you’re part of the white supremacist movement you’re not somebody that we want in Tennessee.” The rallies were organized by the Nationalist Front, a coalition of white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups that include the League of the South, the Traditionalist Worker Party, the National Socialist Movement and Vanguard America, according to _USA Today_. All four are defined as white supremacist groups by the [Southern Poverty Law Center.](https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/white-nationalist "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5001532/white-lives-matter-rally-murfreesboro/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5001532/white-lives-matter-rally-murfreesboro/"},"headline":"White Nationalists Hold 'White Lives Matter' Rallies in Tennessee","datePublished":"2017-10-28T21:46:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:02:08.540Z","description":"Demonstrators in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro were met by hundreds of counter-protesters","url":"https://time.com/5001532/white-lives-matter-rally-murfreesboro/","keywords":["Tennessee","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5306071be42f5d7e/6988e3c1096a945f926a032b/shelbyville-white-lives-matter-rally.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aric Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5306071be42f5d7e/6988e3c1096a945f926a032b/shelbyville-white-lives-matter-rally.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"White Nationalists Hold \"White Lives Matter\" Rallies In Tennessee, Counter Protests Ensue","caption":"White Nationalists Hold \"White Lives Matter\" Rallies In Tennessee, Counter Protests Ensue","creditText":"Joe Buglewicz—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/tennessee/","name":"Tennessee"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5001532/white-lives-matter-rally-murfreesboro/","name":"White Nationalists Hold 'White Lives Matter' Rallies in Tennessee"}}]}] ```