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DETROIT (WXYZ) - Less than a week after the violence in Charlottesville, religious and community leaders gathered Friday in Detroit to speak out against bigotry.

The country is seemingly divided after what took place.

Many folks, including a group of local clergy and community leaders, said they were horrified by these images.

"There is no room for white supremacy, racism and the KKK in America today," Detroit City Councilwoman Mary Sheffield said,

The group came together outside of the Plymouth United Church of Christ in Detroit to speak out against white nationalists and other hate groups.

"It's time to pick a side. Stand on the right side. The side that does not have Nazis," Rev. Greg Larson of the First Congregational Church said,

"We all have to stand up for justice and love," Sheffield said

WXYZ live streamed the press conference on Facebook and many people commented about the event.

Many of the commentators compared the Black Lives Matter movement to the KKK.

"Black Lives Matter is more about justice and equality it's not about hatred," Sheffield said. "And when you look at the KKK, you look what was taking place in Charlottesville, it was, to me, coming from a place of hate."

Other Facebook commenters questioned why religious leaders would make this political.

Reverend Nicholas Hood of the Plymouth United Church of Christ said it's not about politics, it's about people.

"This is about injustice and intolerance," he said.

More than 30 religious and community leaders are committing to work as advocates for peace and equality.

"We are together in hope that we are together in faith, that we are together in love. And that sometimes, that love needs to be strong enough to stand up against injustice in the world," said Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray of the Ecumenical Theological Seminary.

"Take the ashes of Charlottesville and let's, as a nation, build something positive," Hood said.

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Gathering of Detroit clergy sparks debate over Black Lives Matter and KKK - WXYZ

John Delaney says hes a different kind of Democrat.

I work to pursue goals that I think the Democratic Party shares broadly, but I think about how you do that differently, Delaney says.

Delaney is a member of Congress from Maryland and the first officially declared Democratic candidate for president in 2020.

It bears reminding that the 2020 presidential election is more than three years away, and even Iowas first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses are roughly 2 years off.

Yet here was Delaney, making his way around the 2017 Iowa State Fair this past week, holding multiple media interviews and meeting with people interested in his campaign over the span of a couple of days in Des Moines.

The 54-year-old Delaney said he is not a typical Democrat because he believes the best government work is done when both major political parties work together, and that he has a different view on economic issues because of his experience as an entrepreneur.

Assuming he stays in the race for the long haul --- during the interview he assured he would --- Delaney will be among what almost assuredly will be a large crowd of Democratic candidates. (CNN political analyst Chris Cillizza recently estimated more than 20 possibilities --- and that list did not include Delaney.) So Delaney will need a message that differentiates himself from the crowd.

A key element of Delaneys message is that he thinks federal officials are, as he said it, having the wrong conversation. He said too much political debate is about re-litigating battles of the past, and not enough about looking toward the future.

And a critical piece of that forward-looking debate, Delaney said, is technology and the disruption it will have on the global workforce.

Technology, automation, global interconnections, these are changing everything, Delaney said. These things are going to have profound effects over the next 20 or 30 years, and theyre going to create large-scale opportunities and challenges, and were doing nothing to prepare our country and our citizens.

Delaney said the federal government should be doing more to prepare for those profound effects by creating a more competitive and entrepreneurial business climate, creating a better educated and more well-trained workforce, investing in communities, and make smarter investments of government resources to create a healthier budget and environment.

That, to me, is a blueprint for the future, Delaney said.

Delaney founded two companies: a finance company for health care providers and a commercial lender. Both went public within three years of their founding, according to Delaneys biography.

He was first elected to Congress in 2012 and serves on the financial services committee.

Delaney said his business background gives him a different economic perspective that is different that some Democrats, that he does not view the private sector as the enemy.

And that message, Delaney said, is what will help Democrats regain voters they lost in 2016 --- including in Iowa, which went twice for former President Barack Obama but flipped for Trump.

I dont think its the policy goals of the Democratic Party are wrong. But I definitely think that we are not talking to people about what they care most about. We tend to talk to people about what we care most about. And those are very different things, Delaney said.

Obviously what most people care about is their job and the economy in their local community. Because really at the end of the day everything flows from that: a persons sense of dignity, their ability to raise a family, their ability to support their kids, the ability to make sure the community has the resources it needs so its vital and vibrant. And Democrats arent talking enough about that.

As for his early entry into the race, Delaney said part of the reason is his desire to be straight with voters, who he thinks are tired of all the b.s. in politics.

We all know there are a lot of people running for president right now, Delaney said. Theyre just not saying it.

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A 'different' Democrat comes to Iowa - Sioux City Journal

(1 of ) A tree explodes into flames as the wind whips up the southern front of a wildfire as it burns near Sisters, Ore., Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. (Andy Tullis /The Bulletin via AP) (2 of ) A wildfire burns just outside of Sister, Ore., Friday Aug. 18, 2017. (Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard via AP)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ASSOCIATED PRESS | August 19, 2017, 2:37PM

| Updated 3 hours ago.

SISTERS, Oregon Evacuation orders affecting hundreds of people were issued in California and Oregon as wildfires neared small towns, including one thats a prime location for viewing the eclipse.

About 600 residents were told to leave the tourist town of Sisters, Oregon, and authorities said Saturday another 1,000 people had been told to be ready to leave if necessary.

Sisters is located on the edge of a 70-mile swath of the state where the moon will completely blot out the sun.

No structures had been lost and no injuries have been reported since the fire began last week. The cause is under investigation.

Crews were expecting a tough day Saturday with winds gusting to more than 20 mph.

On Monday, they will have to contend with the solar eclipse that fire officials say will ground all firefighting helicopters and most fixed-wing aircraft for about 35 minutes as the moons shadow passes over the area.

Shopkeepers were hoping the fire would not inhibit business as tourists arrive to watch the eclipse.

If you look up at the sky its not an orange cloud anymore, said Andrew Bourgerie, co-owner of Sisters Bakery. So its simmering down a little bit.

Some campsites and recreational areas were shut down due to the 12-square-mile wildfire in Deschutes National Forest that jumped fire lines Friday.

Officials say the blaze is producing heavy smoke while burning in forests at higher elevations and sagebrush in lower areas.

We have a few days before the eclipse to see if the smoke is in the area, fire spokeswoman Lisa Clark said.

Officials said only aircraft with instruments allowing them to fly at night can fight the fire during the eclipse. Clark said that eliminates the bulk of the firefighting fleet, though large airtankers will be able to fly.

In California, authorities issued an evacuation order for the small town of Wawona as a week-old fire in Yosemite National Park grew and air quality reached a hazardous level.

The U.S. Forest Service said the fire grew to more than 4 square miles overnight due to winds from thunderstorms. Authorities ordered people to leave as air quality was expected to worsen.

Wawona, with a population of 1,000 to 2,000 people at any given time, is less than 2 miles from the fire. The evacuation order included the historic Big Trees Lodge, formerly known as the Wawona Hotel.

The fire has closed campgrounds and trails in the national park since it began a week ago. It was 10 percent contained.

In Montana, 155 National Guard troops arrived to monitor about three dozen security checkpoints in an area south of Missoula that was evacuated due to a fire that flared up after burning since at least July 15.

The fire destroyed two homes and several outbuildings Thursday. It burned an additional 14 square miles Friday and has charred an estimated 44 square miles of wooded, mountainous terrain west of Lolo.

The troops will relieve law enforcement officers so they can return to other duties.

The Missoulian reported that heavy smoke has settled into valleys and officials warned of poor air quality

Idahos two largest wildfires were burning mostly in wilderness areas.

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Wildfire nears Oregon eclipse-viewing spot; hundreds evacuated - Santa Rosa Press Democrat