On Monday, August 4, Not In Our Town invites you to participate in an online screening and interactive panel discussion of the new documentary, "Waking in Oak Creek."
Blog
July 28, 2014 - 10:49am
Educators play a key role in fostering a safe, accepting environment in the classroom. Our newest lesson plan uses our new documentary, Waking In Oak Creek, to focus on religious inclusivity and how to teach students about the Sikh religion and accepting others’ beliefs.
According to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, rates of bullying against Sikh children “range from roughly half to over three-quarters.” Additionally, the Sikh Coalition has found that discrimination and bullying for turbaned Sikhs have increased exponentially since Sept. 11, 2001.
July 25, 2014 - 4:34pm
Swimming Beyond Racism
A dedicated swimmer is back in the pool after being the victim of a hate crime five months ago, according to ABC 7 News.
Omid, a 15-year-old middle school student from Chicago, heard the words “Hey Persian,” before he was violently attacked by one of his peers. The attacker broke Omid’s collarbone on both sides.
Omid worried that he would ever be able to swim again. But, as he recovered, he received a visit from Olympic swimmer B.J. Johnson. The visit gave Omid the confidence to continue doing what he loved.
Along with Johnson, community members came together to support his family.
“We have all this outpouring of support...that’s what’s really helped,” said Omid’s mother, Melissa Babakhani. “We’re just going to focus on the good.”
July 21, 2014 - 1:35pm
The Not In Our Town National Leadership Gathering in June brought together leaders from 46 cities in 21 states. As these leaders returned to their hometowns, they continued the conversation about why preventing extremism, hatred and bullying matters.
Here we feature four great news articles and opinion pieces that feature our leaders and their presence at the gathering.
July 18, 2014 - 2:03pm
In his recent New York Times op-ed, White, Bigoted, and Young: The Data of Hate, Harvard economist Seth Stephens-Davidowitz analyzes thousands of user profiles on Stormfront, the most popular white supremacist website in the United States. His findings paint a surprising—and disturbing—portrait of who joins a hate forum.