Join us this weekend for the National Leadership Gathering in Billings, Montana to engage with active community leaders about making our towns and schools safe and inclusive. Featuring film screenings, workshops, events, and panel discussions, the National Leadership Gathering is a great opportunity to learn positive community action and bring it back to your town!
At our last National Leadership Gathering in 2006, youth leaders came together to share their efforts to make their schools more accepting. Their work and spirit of collaboration embody what it means to be an upstander. Find their discussion in this short video.
Blog
June 12, 2014 - 5:20pm
Galvanized Souls is a rock band whose core members are comprised of four young Southern California musicians, whose music is influenced by decades of rock music. While a relatively new band, they have played many shows at high profile venues, fairs, fundraisers and music festivals throughout Southern California.
Having endured bullying themselves, the band members bring awareness and advocate against bullying. They were inspired to write their upcoming original song, “Carry On,” when they heard about an 11-year-old boy named Colin who faced bullying in an extraordinary way. Colin is even featured in the music video.
June 11, 2014 - 9:15am
Our condolences go out to the police department and the families of Metro Officers Igor Soldo and Alyn Beck and bystander Joseph Wilcox in Las Vegas, who were murdered by anti-government white supremacists on Sunday, June 8 at a shoot out in a pizza parlor and Wal-Mart store.
These killings beg the question: What can we do as communities to respond and prevent violent eruptions of anti - government extremism and bigotry?
June 11, 2014 - 9:00am
While the rest of the world turns to Brazil and the World Cup for soccer this week, we share this great story from Nashville, TN, where a diverse group of players came together on the field. Not In Our Town partnered with Nashville Public Television’s “Ten Days of Peace” activities on the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. This short film illustrates how peaceful activities can go a long way toward building bridges and creating community.
InterFACE Ministries hosted soccer games that brought together soccer enthusiasts from around the globe. Rather than letting national, religious, or cultural differences create divisions, the players from Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, and Nashville were able to bond using the common language of their love of soccer.
One player from Nashville reflected on his 16-year friendship with a Rwandan teammate, saying, “You just go out and play, and through those interactions you form pretty deep bonds.”
June 9, 2014 - 5:36pm
By Becki Cohn-Vargas, Not In Our School Director
This blog was originally featured on Who’s That Lady Entertainment.
Left Out in the Cold, Even in Summer: What to Do About Relational Bullying
In seventh grade, I admit, I was not always the nicest person. One day, two of my friends and I went up to Louise H.’s house. We were giggling as we rang the bell. We had it all planned. When she answered the door, we were going to run. We just did it to be mean, for no other purpose. She came out and we took off. As we sprinted down the street laughing, I did not think twice about how Louise must have felt.