Following a successful Light in the Darkness screening and discussion in September, Not In Our Town: Princeton has actively addressed issues of discrimination and racism through the group's blog.
The NIOT group has identified bullying in particular as an issue of concern facing the Princeton community. After viewing the documentary at the Princeton Public Library, audience members engaged in a thought-provoking discussion that ended with many participants recalling past bullying experiences, while others offered suggestions on how to responsibly combat bullying—as described in the group's post, republished here.
Heartbreaking and Thoughtful: Responses to Bullying
By Marietta Taylor
Blog
November 10, 2011 - 4:45pm
Not In Our Town will be in Phoenix at the Congress of Cities & Exposition, the annual conference from our partners at the National League of Cities.
Join our Executive Producer Patrice O'Neill and Patchogue, N.Y. Mayor Paul Pontieri for a film presentation from Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness on Friday, at 4:30 p.m. The discussion following the presentation will be moderated by Roeland Park, KS Mayor Adrienne Foster.
November 8, 2011 - 11:02am
Today marks the third anniversary of the death of Marcelo Lucero, Ecuadorian immigrant and Patchogue, N.Y. resident. According to the Patchogue Patch, approximately 100 people attended services dedicated to Marcelo Lucero and other victims of hate crimes this weekend.
At the services, Marcelo's brother, Joselo, thanked the crowd for attending.
"I really feel like this is what I want from the beginning," Joselo Lucero said, "just to have two communities in one place getting along in harmony."
Attendees honored other hate crime victimes lost and injured and wrote messages of peace and love in both English and Spanish. After the services, the crowd marched to the spot Marcelo Lucero was killed and scattered roses in his name.
October 31, 2011 - 12:49pm
On Oct. 19, 60 residents of Redlands, Calif. got together for a screening of Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness, sponsored by the Redlands Police Department, the Human Relations Commission, and a variety of other groups, and moderated by University of Redlands Race and Ethnic Studies Professor Keith Osajima.
Participants in the discussion found it easy to see the parallels between the conditions that led to the murder of Marcelo Lucero in Patchogue with those in Redlands. In the Redlands Daily Facts article, one woman noted that she “fears for her nephew, a gay student at Redlands High School. ‘We don't talk about homosexuality in this town,' she said. 'We need some (openly gay) leaders to give our young kids an opportunity to grow.’” The group also discussed how the Redlands community responded to the double homicide of two teens earlier this year.