John Osbron chatted with his girlfriend and his sister Wednesday night as they waited to hear four local bands play in support of immigrants.
When the Gainesville resident went to The Hardback Cafe, located at 211 W. University Ave., at about 9:30 p.m., he realized the fee to enter the bar would go to the American Civil Liberties Union as part of the cafe’s Emergency ACLU Benefit concert.
The ACLU, a nonprofit active that provides legal assistance to those whose civil liberties may be at stake, has received more than $24 million in donations since Trump’s immigration ban, according to The Washington Post. Each person’s $5 to $10 entry fee went to the nonprofit, said Alan Bushnell, the cafe’s owner.
Elsewhere, Gainesville tea shop Lollicup, located at 3550 SW 34th St., announced Wednesday on Facebook it will donate 10 cents to ACLU every time someone “checks in” to the chain cafe through social media. The owner could not immediately be reached for comment.
Bushnell, an attorney, said a band approached him about holding the benefit concert a few days ago. He immediately said yes.
The UF alumnus, who hosts bands at his venue Wednesdays through Saturdays, said he doesn’t expect the Trump administration to implement any intelligent policies, and the immigration ban proved as much. The executive order, which suspends entry from citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, could affect up to 90,000 people, according to The Washington Post.
“It’s a stupid thing to do,” Bushnell said. “It was only certain countries, not including ones that he (Trump) does business with, so it’s an inherent conflict of interest.”
Osbron, 24, who disagrees wholeheartedly with Trump’s executive order, said he decided to stay late into the night at The Hardback Cafe after hearing the reason for the fundraiser.
Though Osbron sees some residents divided by politics, he said the concert gave him hope for unity.
“The city, or the country in general, I think it’s getting divided into two main factions,” he said, “but those two main factions are also growing and coming together.”
@molly_vossler
mvossler@alligator.org
