| Heroes Against Hate |
Understanding Hate | ||
| How Hate Stalks The Vulnerable | ||
| Wanda Mitchum Interview | ||
| Why Burn Churches? | ||
| The Making of A Skinhead | ||
| Web of Hate | ||
Responding To Hate | ||
 | Heroes Against Hate | |
| Resources for Responding | ||
| Fighting Hate | ||
| National Response | ||
Do you have any heroes or grass roots organizations you'd like to honor? Submit your heroes against hate and racism GILES COUNTY UNITED: TOWN FIGHTS AGAINST KLAN Pulaski, Tennessee is infamous. Having been the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan, Pulaski became a battlefield in the 1980s after the creation of a national holiday for slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The Klan marched in Pulaski every year to protest. The town began to fight back in 1988, after Bettie Higgins watched her first Klan rally and was horrified. She began calling city leaders - anyone she could think of to stand with her against the Klan. The result was Giles County United, a group of citizens that has taken on the hate groups. In 1989, after Aryan Nations announced it would march with the Klan, Giles County United virtually shut down the town the day of the rally. When the marchers showed up, they found a ghost town draped in orange banners, the international color of brotherhood. There were no restrooms available, no businesses open and no restaurants serving food. The following year Giles County United was awarded the lone parade permit for the Saturday before Martin Luther King Day. The "brotherhood" rally was preceded by threatening mail, phone calls and lawsuits. The day of the rally, 100 KKK members showed up without a permit. They were cited by local police and eventually left the town square. "There was a sense of renewal," said Mayor Dan Speer. "It empowered our citizens and taught us what we can do if we work together." Only a few people turned out to watch the Klan event, last July, when about 40 followers marched in drizzling rain. THE CITIZENS OF BILLINGS, MONTANA: NOT IN THEIR TOWN In 1995, in Billings, Montana, a series of hate crimes shook the community. When a Native American woman woke up to swastikas painted on the outside of her home, neighbors banded together and the house was repainted by that evening. When a black church became the target of skinhead intimidation, local activists of all colors began attending services. When a brick was thrown through the bedroom window of a Jewish child whose window bore a menorah, the community response was extraordinary. An organized alliance of citizens, churches, unions and the media banded together. The local paper printed a full-page, color picture of a menorah, so that others could hang it in their windows in solidarity. With the help of merchants, by late December nearly 10,000 people in Billings, Montana had this symbol of Jews overcoming persecution displayed in their windows. This inspirational story was captured on the video Not in Our Town. Curriculum and community action materials are available. THE BONNER COUNTY HUMAN RIGHTS TASK FORCE "I believe in the inviolable dignity of each human being. I oppose discrimination, segregation, intimidation, harassment, physical harm, or the denial of equal protection in any form based upon race, color, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. I recognize that it is the racial, social, and cultural diversity of our people that makes Bonner County a rich and worthwhile place in which to live." Located in North Idaho - home to racist and anti-government groups such as the Aryan Nations - the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force has been active in the community since 1992. Activities include presenting public speakers, networking with other human rights organizations, monitoring legal and law enforcement developments and sponsoring public rallies. In addition, the task force has fostered the formation and growth of human rights clubs at grade school, middle and high school levels. ARN CHORN POND YOUTHCORE / GANG PREVENTION http://www.globalyouthconnect.org/Pages/arn.html A survivor of the Cambodian genocide, Arn Chorn Pond is an internationally recognized human rights leader, speaker and trainer. He has founded or co-founded five organizations including Children of War, Cambodian Volunteers for Community Development, and PeaceMakers, a U.S. based gang intervention project for Southeast youth. Currently Arn directs a youth program for the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association in Lowell, Massachusetts, where he works with Cambodian and Latino gang members. Violence there has escalated recently and community members have been killed. Arn wants these gang members to dance together, if nothing else. He is acquiring recording equipment so that the gangs can cut a hip-hop CD together. He is also an accomplished musician, recording artist and actor who has traveled around the world meeting with young people from war zones. HAMEED WILLIAMS http://www.globalyouthconnect.org/Pages/hameed.html Born in Brooklyn, Hameed Williams has been an activist on U.S. human rights and civil rights issues since age 14. In college, he founded the National Youth Network, which focuses on violence and abuse against African-Americans. He is currently writing a handbook for high school and college students who are organizing in their schools for more just and equitable practices and policies. Hameed now works with the Theatre of the Oppressed Laboratory in New York and is involved with Educators for Social Responsibility. He is completing a Masters in Education with a specialization in conflict resolution, liberatory pedagogy and peaceable schools curriculum and instruction at Lesley College in Cambridge, Mass. STUDENT CIVIL RIGHTS PROJECT - "STOP THE HATE" The Student Civil Rights Project (SCRP) is a model program initiated by the Governor's Task Force on Hate Crimes in 1998. The focus is to research, develop and coordinate solutions to combat prejudice and hate-motivated violence in Massachusetts schools. SCRP provides a long-term solution that builds on community resources by strengthening communication and partnership between schools, law enforcement and organizations. The students created the "Stop the Hate", web site where peers can report hate crimes and bias-motivated incidents. The site offers resources and links, historical information, art and poetry.  |
