Every January, we remember the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and his inspiring dream for a country free of oppression and hatred. The year "1963 is not an end, but a beginning," Dr. King declared on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to hundreds of thousands of hopeful listeners. His dream has yet to be fully realized, but the fight for equality continues today.
The communities featured in Embracing the Dream: Lessons from the Not In Our Town Movement highlight some of the victories in this march for social justice. Four individual films are included in this collection. Each film is preceded by individual perspectives on Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy today. You may also download the Embracing the Dream discussion guide, which is useful to spark discussion in your classroom, boardroom or lunchroom. We are so pleased that schools, churches and corporations will be incorporating these stories into their holiday lesson plans and activities.
Blog
December 27, 2013 - 10:42am
In the aftermath of the 2008 murder of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero in Patchogue, NY, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a comprehensive investigation into the operations of the Suffolk County Police Department. The DOJ spent several years on this investigation of discriminatory policing against Latinos. This month they tentatively agreed to a settlement with the Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), which calls for SCPD to implement new and enhanced policies and procedures to ensure nondiscrimination in the provision of police services to Latino communities in Suffolk County.
Key DOJ findings include:
◾ Inconsistent tracking and reporting of hate crimes
◾ Failure to instruct officers adequately to understand what hate crimes are
◾ Police policy and instructional documents containing “vague and inconsistent” guidance on hate crimes; for example, not making clear that youth could be charged with hate crimes
◾ Failure to recognize the severity of criminal conduct by brushing off attacks as “just kids being kids”
DOJ recommendations included the following:
December 19, 2013 - 2:12pm
The packed gymnasium erupted on Tuesday night with applause as the Oakland High School varsity boys basketball team ran onto the court for the first home game of the season. But their usual blue and white Wildcat jerseys were replaced by cerulean T-shirts with the message “NO H8” printed on the front, and a single name printed on the back, “Sasha.”
That name refers to Sasha Fleischman, a high school senior at nearby Maybeck High School in Berkeley, CA, who was badly burned after being set on fire while sleeping on a city bus. Sasha, who identifies as agender, was wearing a skirt at the time of the attack, leading police to investigate the incident as a hate crime. A student from Oakland High School has been apprehended and charged with assault with a hate crime enhancement.