In the early hours of a February morning in 2008, Daoud Abudiab woke up to a call by the local fire department. The Muslim community leader was notified that there had been an attack on the Islamic Center of Columbia, the home of the Muslim community in Columbia, Tenn. The very mosque that he directed was defaced with racial slurs and burned to the ground.
For Abudiab, his family, and the Columbia community, the attack was a reminder of how hate can devastate a community; but also, a lesson that strength and unity can overcome tragedy.
Nearly four years later, his daughter reflects on the hate that she and her community experienced that day. This user-generated video is part of Nashville Public Television's award-winning Next Door Neighbors series, which views the Tennessee city through the lens of its newest residents.
Blog
January 23, 2012 - 11:30am
Working closely alongside Facing History and Ourselves, Not in Our School spent the past year documenting student efforts to address issues of concern in their schools. From posting positive messages on Facebook to taking on a social action project or simply speaking out against bullying, students across the nation have taken a step towards tolerance and acceptance with the guidance of their teachers.
Thanks to support from the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust, we produced five short films with accompanying Facing History lesson guides that address issues such as cyberbullying--and highlight peer-to-peer solutions.
To view the films and the accompanying lesson guides, follow the links below:
Students Take On Cyberbullying
A Facebook campaign to spread positive messages, invented to counter cyberbullying by Watchung, N.J. students.
January 17, 2012 - 3:42pm
Not In Our Town returned to Sacramento. In this city, we have documented communities coming together after synagogue arsons and Sikh shootings, and yesterday we were invited to share our most recent PBS film, Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness, as part of the city's Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations.
MLK Day: Lift Every Voice was sponsored by the Crocker Art Museum and included a music-infused celebration.
200 gather for screening of Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness at Sacramento's Crocker Art Museum.
Not In Our Town Executive Producer Patrice O'Neill
December 28, 2011 - 12:04pm
In 2011, communities stood up—together—against hate and intolerance. The year began with the outpouring of support after the shooting of U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and was marked by incidents in Elk Grove, Calif., Joplin, Mo., Berea, Ky., Mount Dora, Fla., Jackson, Miss., Concord, N.H., and Norway. Through Project Kesher, 20 cities in the former Soviet Union participated in Not In Our Town activities.
As we embark on the new year, we remember those who stood up for their neighbors. Thank you for helping us stop hate, together.
December 26, 2011 - 2:06pm
Each year at Hanukkah, Not In Our Town remembers its beginnings. More than 15 years ago, a year of racist violence came to a head one bitterly cold night when a brick was thrown through a six-year-old Jewish boy's bedroom window, where he had placed the family's Hanukkah menorah. The town rose as one to say, Not in Our Town, and a national movement was born.
That story was told in our first PBS film, Not In Our Town. Dozens followed, as our team traveled the country documenting the stories of community after community rising up against hate and prejudice with courage and persistence.