A group of demonstrators on Sept. 24 surrounded the “Embrace” sculpture at the Boston Common to stand in solidarity with Haitian migrants across the country. The group called out the rhetoric and lies spread by the campaign of former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump about Haitian refugees in Ohio.

“As a Haitian American person, I have an obligation. Whenever something bad is said about my community, it’s important for us to come together and unite,” said Brockton Councilor at Large, Jean Bradley Derenoncourt. “Obviously what the former president said is a big lie, there’s no fact to it. The mayor of that city and the governor came out and said it wasn’t true.”

Former president Trump has suggested that Haitians were eating cats and dogs in Ohio.

Carline Desire, the executive director of the Association of Haitian Women in Boston praised residents for standing in solidarity with Haitian refugees and immigrants.

“We need to come together as one community,” said Desire. She and other called out racist accusations spread by white supremacy groups and others. She also discussed what she called the untaught history of the Haitian peoples’ involvement in American history, such as during the successful slave revolt of African Americans.

“We are here today to say no to hatred,” said Kedel Atien, who attended the rally. “Because the Haitian community has been under attack for weeks. All the allegations are lies. We are real people contributing to the economy of this country, raising our families and we don’t deserve hatred. We are ready to fight, using our votes so we stop these types of attacks on the Haitian community.”