On Sunday, the citizens of Marshalltown, Iowa launched a united effort to help stop bullying before tragedy strikes.
The citywide Not In Our Town campaign is organized by an anti-bullying committee comprised of community, education, civic and law enforcement leaders. This core group of 25 were brought together by the Marshalltown Times-Republican. Through a series of film screenings, community events, and public speakers, the campaign aims to bring all forms of bullying to light to make Marshalltown a safe and inclusive city.
"We want to see if we can be ahead of the curve as a community in preventing bullying," said Mike Schlesinger, publisher of the Times-Republican, said in a June 3 article. "We want to look at ways to prevent school bullying, but also workplace bullying, domestic violence and other types of bullying among adults."
Blog
May 18, 2012 - 5:07pm
"Workers Without Wheels is saying, 'You come in here and maybe we're training you about bicycles, but you might be training us about how to treat each other decently.'"
—Rev. Dwight Lee Wolter
"Workers Without Wheels," a short film from Ed Betz Photography features an innovative bicycle program that brings together immigrants and community members in Patchogue, N.Y. The program not only provides bicycles to those in need, but work-training as well.
Rev. Dwight Lee Wolter, who appeared in Light in the Darkness, leads the Congregational Church of Patchogue.
Workers Without Wheels holds a giveaway and fundraiser tomorrow, May 19. Click here for more details.
May 16, 2012 - 12:56pm
"There is a cure against racism. The deep wounds can be healed but the healing process is intricate, deliberate and will require involvement from those who have previously remained silent."
On April 27 YWCA Greater Cleveland hosted a screening and discussion of Not in Our Town: Light in the Darkness to a large and engaged audience. The event--and this piece below--is part of YWCA's national Stand Against Racism campaign.
By Margaret Mitchell, President & CEO, YWCA Greater Cleveland
May 15, 2012 - 2:34pm
"African-American people are LGBT people, they are allies of the LGBT community, and family members of LGBT people. The African-American community is not homogeneous. Our community is diverse just like the LGBT community."
When opponents of the LGBT community used President Obama's support of same-sex marriage as an opportunity to drive a wedge between African-American and LGBT communities, Eran Thompson spoke up. Thompson is an activist who serves his hometown of Billings, Montana as the chairperson of Not In Our Town Billings and serves on the board of the Montana Human Rights Network and Not In Our Town/The Working Group. In this piece, Thompson addresses the supporters of the Montana Human Rights Network.
May 14, 2012 - 4:32pm
In late April, our supporters at the Nathan Cummings Foundation featured Not In Our Town on their website. The Nathan Cummings Foundation's mission is rooted in the Jewish tradition and committed to democratic values and social justice. Not In Our Town receives funding through the foundation's Arts and Culture Program. We were pleased and proud to learn that NIOT will receive continued support from NCF in 2012.
The foundation notes that NIOT.org "is a countervailing force to the subculture of hate, providing a web portal where visitors can share and be inspired by the experiences of those with the courage to stand up against bigotry based on race, religion, gender, sexuality and age."