NOT IN OUR TOWN E-NEWS
Upcoming events and tools you can use to continue critical anti-hate work in your town.
Consider this: A man opens fire on the Seattle Jewish Federation, killing one woman and injuring five others. A pig’s head is thrown through the front window of a Mosque in Lewiston, Maine. Five gay men are attacked after San Diego’s gay pride festival and beaten with baseball bats. In the Silicon Valley, a Sikh grandfather is stabbed in the neck by a man who calls him a terrorist, and the next day, an African American man is assaulted by skinheads.
IN THIS ISSUE
THE NOT IN OUR TOWN NATIONAL GATHERING: ORDINARY CITIZENS TRANSFORMING THEIR COMMUNITIES
For the first time ever, the Not In Our Town National Gathering will bring together the many people who make up the movement — ordinary citizens who are committed to building hate-free communities around the country.
At the Gathering, you'll be able to share stories and strategies with other organizers and community leaders. You'll hear from experts like the Southern Poverty Law Center's Mark Potok, one of the nation's top authorities on racist extremism, who will talk about the latest trends in hate groups and how to combat them. You'll meet young people who are taking on racism and intolerance in high schools and colleges. You'll hear from law enforcement officials who are finding new ways to engage with communities to help everyone feel safer. And you'll meet the community leaders who are engaged right now in fighting hate crime and hate groups.
Here's what you can do:
- Attend the Not In Our Town National Gathering
- Urge a representative from your city leadership or human relations commission to attend
- Sponsor a youth delegate
- Sponsor a greeting in the Not In Our Town 10th Anniversary Gathering Book
We hope you'll join us in sharing stories and building strategies to stand up to hate violence at the Not In Our Town National Gathering, October 6-8 in Bloomington, Illinois.
To learn more:
NIOTgathering@theworkinggroup.org or (510) 268-9675 ext. 300
www.theworkinggroup.org/niotgathering.html
OLYMPIA SHOWS UNITY IN THE FACE OF NEO-NAZI HATE RALLY
Unity in the Community co-founder Reiko Callner announces the group has raised $6,000 for diversity. |
Earlier this year, the neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Movement (NSM) announced it would hold a white power rally in Olympia, Washington, boasting that the event would draw hate groups from all over the West. In response to the rally, as well as white supremacist leafleting and hateful public demonstrations, a broad coalition of local organizations and activists called Unity in the Community began a comprehensive campaign to counter this message of hate.
Unity in the Community's efforts included:
- A youth screening of Not In Our Town organized by high school students and attended by 400 people, followed by a youth-lead discussion about hate and community response
- A series of ads in the local newspaper, The Olympian, that included the names of hundreds of local businesses, groups and institutions that stood against hate
- A campaign to place diversity posters in the windows of homes and businesses throughout Olympia
- A counter event with music, children's activities and speakers to affirm that Olympians are united by and for diversity
High school students in Olympia organized a discussion about youth responses to hate. |
On July 3, the NSM staged its demonstration on the steps of the State Capitol, as planned, but the small group of extremists was dwarfed by 500 peaceful counter-demonstrators who drowned out the neo-Nazis with a message of unity and inclusion. The Working Group visited Olympia, Washington twice this summer to document the community's response for a new NOT IN OUR TOWN program.
MADERA STRUGGLES WITH WHITE SUPREMACISTS AND RACISM IN SCHOOLS
Community organizer Gloria Brown looks at neo-Nazi graffiti in Madera, California. |
A series of hateful acts have triggered the beginnings of a strong community response in Madera, California. This central valley town near Fresno has recently been shaken by racist graffiti, as well as troubling problems in the schools: a young African American middle school student was singled out in class by her teacher's racist remarks, and, in a separate incident, another teacher was revealed to be a white supremacist and arrested on weapons charges.
Law enforcement and community leaders talk about how to respond to hateful acts in Madera, California. |
In the aftermath of these disturbing events, Madera is holding community meetings bringing together law enforcement, local leaders, faith groups and concerned citizens to discuss how to respond.
WE ARE BUILDING OUR EMAIL NETWORK
You can receive email updates from the NOT IN OUR TOWN anti-hate network, with upcoming events, resources and the latest information from other communities fighting hate. To sign up, send an email to info@theworkinggroup.org with the word "join" in the subject line.
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