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USA Today NetworkRochelle Riley, Detroit Free Press Opinion Published 7:00 a.m. ET Aug. 18, 2017 | Updated 7:57 a.m. ET Aug. 18, 2017

From Trump Tower in New York City, President Trump told reporters that both sides were to blame for the violence that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia. USA TODAY

President Trump(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)

We have reached that point in American history where one must take sides.

It happened at the beginning when Americans had to choose England or America.

It happened in the New World when the colonists had to choose union or separation.

It almost happened during the U.S. civil rights struggles of the 1960s, but people remained too conflicted or sat on the sidelines watching as one side fought for the America of the past while the other side fought for the America of the future.

And now it has happened in 2017 as the President of the United States has taken the side of white supremacists and Nazis.

It is up to the rest of us now.

There are no sidelines in this battle now.

What happened in Charlottesville, Va., was not about the removal of a statue ofConfederate Gen.Robert E. Lee, who surrendered to Union Gen.Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox in 1865.Even in death, Lee, whose cause was wrong, and whose side lost, is not someone America should be forced to celebrate with public dollars on public land. Let those who wish for those times, who want those times, celebrate him in private on their own. Lee is just a poster child for the wishes of self-appointed white nationalist leader Richard Spencer (I will never use the term alt-right). Spencer isthe Joseph McCarthy of the 21st Century, trying to convince people that diversity is the boogeyman at the door.

How silly. Nothing about increasing diversity or making the pursuit of happiness possible for more than one race of people is keeping white Americans from what theyve always had: a leg up. Even his argument is racially specious: Theyre taking our jobs. Theyre taking our seats in classrooms. It reeks of thebelief that everything belongsto white people first.

Why are we surprised by what happened in Charlottesville? We've seen it coming for some time. It is the latest stage in a cancer that has afflicted America for more than 150 years, a cancer now being fed by apresident taking us to the brink of world war abroad while empowering racists, intentionally or not, to foment civil war at home.

His decision to initially blame the victims of an act of domestic terrorism as much as the terrorists was not where the problem started.

His decision to campaign on the mantra of taking the country back and making America great again were not where the problem started (although most black people in America knew what he meant, and apparently so did many Nazis and white nationalists).

No, the problem didnt start with Donald Trump. The problem has been with us since 1619 when Americas founding as a white supremacist nation was cemented with the free, tormented labor of stolen lives from Africa.

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... since 1863, when those souls were turned out from plantations and metobstacles at every turn as they sought to succeed

... since 1954 when America tried to use black children to equalize society in a failed experiment that now has black children so behind they may never catch up

... since 1967 when cities like Detroit erupted in rage after decades of mistreatment that some white people werent even aware of

... since 1968 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated because he was about to join black, brown and poor people in a single battle for justice (that could not be allowed)

... since 2008 when America elected a black president and Congress fought to ensure that he wouldnt be successful because (that could not be allowed again).

Since last November when America elected a man who actually told a TV interviewer that he didnt understand what hemeant by white supremacy.

What happened in Charlottesvillehas been coming since 1863, a runaway train on a track that finally has reached places where people can no longer ignore it.

The problem started at the point the Rev. Dan Hauge, pastor ofGrace Bible Church in Bellevue, Neb., cited on Twitter this week:

I think one issue is we whites imagine the endgame of anti-racism as harmonious relationships rather than equal power to shape society, he wrote.

And there you have it.

The goal of life after emancipation was not for black folks to get along with white folks. It was to be full citizens of America, with the same rights to vote, live and pursue happiness.

Weve spent 150 years trying to get in to fit in, sit in the same classrooms, work in the same jobs, live in the same neighborhoods while many white folks felt their job was to tolerate us, that if they did that, they were fulfilling their duties as great American citizens all the while putting up gates, blocking financial capital to increased success and making sure that we were just second-class enough to ensure that they and their children could still be considered superior.

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We are here now, really here. There are no more sidelines. All those other times in history (where people watched what happened, either shaking their heads, shedding private tears or cheering hate) are past. There is no place for complacency anymore.

There are no sidelines. Everyone CEOs, chefs, comics, mail carriers, mayors, magicians, principals, pet store owners, power brokers, actors and zookeepers needs to stand up and be heard and fight for America.

When the comedian Jimmy Fallon opened his show Monday night with a powerful and serious monologue about what happened, he said:

"Its my responsibility to stand up against intolerance and extremism as a human being.

What happened over the weekend in Charlottesville, Va., was just disgusting. I was watching the news like everyone else, and youre seeing Nazi flags and torches and white supremacists, and I was sick to my stomach. My daughters are in the next room playing and Im thinking, How can I explain to them that theres so much hatred in this world? Theyre 2 years old and 4 years old. They dont know what hate is.

But as kids grow up, they need people to look up to to show them whats right, and good. They need parents and teachers, and they need leaders who appeal to the best in us. The fact that it took the president two days to come out and clearly denounce racists and white supremacists is shameful. And I think he finally spoke out because people everywhere stood up and said something. Its important for everyone especially white people in this country to speak out against this. Ignoring it is just as bad as supporting it.

That is where we are now. To ignore what ishappening is to support it.

WhenTrump said last year that he and his ilk wanted to take the country back, Fallons answer is mine and should be ours:

We cant go back. We cant go back.

Rochelle Riley is a columnist for the Detroit Free Press, where this column first appeared. Follow her on Twitter:@rochelleriley.

You can read diverse opinions from ourBoard of Contributorsand other writers on theOpinion front page, on Twitter@USATOpinionand in our dailyOpinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment toletters@usatoday.com.

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Trump chose bigotry over democracy. It's time to act: Rochelle Riley - USA TODAY