On Monday, August 12th, WNRI talk radio show radio host John Dionne self-identified as a white nationalist after a lengthy discussion about the two-year anniversary of the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, and expressed his opposition to the removal of racist Civil War era confederate statues.

After public backlash on Tuesday, Mr. Dionne unapologetically backpedaled, claiming to have not known the accepted definition of the term “white nationalist”. He then proceeded to double down on the rhetoric and sentiment behind his original claim.

Mr. Dionne has been a radio talk show host for decades and has previously served in a political capacity as an elected official. He has no excuse not to know the meaning of the phrase “white nationalist “.

This type of rhetoric puts marginalized people in our community in danger and helps to foster the growth of far right nationalist groups that have occurred over the last few years. Mr. Dionne needs to be held accountable. Please sign this petition in order to:

1. Ask the WNRI radio station to denounce white nationalism and white supremacy, and consider removing John Dionne from the air.

2. Politely ask his sponsors to withdraw their sponsorship

3. Ask Woonsocket’s elected officials to explicitly denounce white nationalism and white supremacy.

Contact information for the WNRI radio station, phone numbers and email addresses for Woonsocket’s elected officials and a list of sponsors can be found at tinyurl.com/johnrdionne.