Blog

Released today!   In Not In Our Town: Light In the Darkness, the Patchogue-Medford Library plays a pivotal role as a safe haven for the local immigrant community. In Fall 2008, librarian Jean Kaleda and librarian assistant Gilda Ramos learned that people were afraid to attend evening ESL classes at the library for fear of being attacked while walking the streets at night. The librarians were in the process of organizing a public meeting with local officials to address their concerns. A week later, Marcelo Lucero was murdered and the library became a place for healing and dialogue. Spanish-speaking police officers, Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri, and local leaders met with community members to address the concerns of the Latino population in Patchogue. A group of quilters worked in the basement of the library as they stitched "Healing Hands, Mending Hearts," a quilt they later presented to Joselo Lucero, Marcelo's brother.

After a summer spent putting the final touches on our film, Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness, we gathered together our supporters and friends of Not In Our Town and its mission for an advance screening on Sept. 7. Before and after the film, several people reflected on the power of Not In Our Town films to change attitudes. Jon Logan, of the Reva and David Logan Foundation explained why he decided to support our mission.  "It was a great opportunity for myself and my family to put our money were are hearts are, really document what was going on in my community, but also to really show how communities dealt with these things," Logan said. "These were just everyday people who knew they wanted to do the right thing and their communities needed their help."