Two years after a hate crime rocked the small Long Island village of Patchogue, N.Y., the community will come together to remember local resident Marcelo Lucero and to pledge to work toward peace, harmony, and unity in the wake of Lucero's violent death.
Lucero's younger brother, Joselo Lucero, is organizing a vigil on Sunday, Nov. 7 and has invited youth to create positive messages for a Wall of Hope at the ceremony. Patchogue mayor Paul Pontieri and the Village Trustees will be participating in the event.
Blog
November 4, 2010 - 5:13pm
Stanford Social Innovation Review interviewed Not in Our Town executive producer Patrice O'Neill for their Fall 2010 article, "What's Next: Drowning Out Hate." The article traces community-building origins in Billings, Mont. to our coverage of upbeat counter-rallies in West Virginia.
Contributing editor Suzie Boss also spoke with Southern Poverty Law Center Intelligence Project director Mark Potok. By featuring citizens fighting against intolerance, The Not in Our Town website, Potok said, "has made this into a national idea." He elaborates:
"Communities can see how to use these events to create discussions that would never occur otherwise," he adds. The Billings story stands out, he adds, “as one of the most brilliant, homegrown responses to hate this country has ever seen."
October 18, 2010 - 10:19am
Last week, the nation was stunned by the brutal anti-gay beating and torture of two teen boys and a 30-year-old man in the Bronx, New York.
New York Mayor Bloomberg stepped up and made a strong statement publicly denouncing anti-gay violence: “When any New Yorker is attacked because of who they are or who they love, the fabric that binds us together is torn. That's why these attacks are attacks on us all -- and why they can never, ever be allowed. Especially when it comes to our kids."
September 30, 2010 - 5:40pm
“This is an aged hand that is working to mend the heart that’s been broken, and we can all do that—mend each other’s hearts.” Ruth Monaco, Patchogue quilter