Over 300 people marched and rallied in direct response to 4 attacks in the past 3 days on individuals who were perceived to be LGBTQ.
Organize a Rally or Vigil
An April 29, 2010 rally at Cal State Long Beach focused attention on an attack on a transgender grad student April 15 in a men's bathroom on campus. According to reports the assailant confronted the student by name, pinioned him against a wall and carved the letters "IT" into his chest with a sharp object. The victim issued a statement praising the university's handling of his case.
Students at the University of Illinois held a Friday night "Hug-In" on a downtown street in Champaign-Urbana in memory of a fellow student murdered in 2008 because he was perceived ot be homosexual.
On the morning of April 16, 2010, as the Tea Party Express arrived in Washington, DC, People Unite to Heal the Hate--an interfaith, intercultural ad-hoc group-- rallied on the steps of the National City Christian Church to call for greater civility, respect and restraint in the country's political and religious speech.
We, the undersigned community leaders of West Virginia, affirm our partnership in respecting the equal rights of others. In this spirit, we condemn hate in any form. Moving beyond mere tolerance, we dedicate ourselves to cooperative community-building by strengthening these civic values: • Teamwork • Respect • Courage • Honor • Integrity • Responsibility • Compassion • Unselfish service A heart image appears on the next page. This universal symbol of love can be our community's response to messages of hate. Tear out this page and put the heart image in your window this week, and any time you want to display the power of love in our community. Or create your own heart image to display in your window, to show your support of a loving, inclusive community. (This initiative was inspired by the early leadership of the WV Chamber of Commerce in creating and distributing signs expressing words and symbols of unity and cooperation. These signs contain icons with particular emotive power: a rainbow, a menorah, a dove with an olive branch. Find this image at http://www.allianceblog.org) State Capitol of West Virginia (river side) Thursday, April 8, 5:30 PM Calling people of good will to act as non-violent agents of healing in our community. Join our chorus of reassurance and care for victims of
Vigil recalls gay man whose murder four years ago spurred creation of a homeless center for LBGT youth.
Annie Parkhurst organized the counter-protest against the Westboro Baptist Church in front of Wilson High School. She is friends with many students in the GSA at Wilson, who also participate in her new non-profit Cut&Paste Rock& Roll. Her organization hosts music ,art, and performances by the GLBT community to raise scholarship money for queer students.
University of California, Santa Barbara-
UCSB recently launched their week long “Speak Up Against Hate Campaign” in an effort to raise awareness about hate crimes and incidents.
Organized by the Office of Judicial Affairs, the week kicked off with a rally in Storke Plaza where students signed pledges to “Speak Up” against hate and shared their own experiences with discrimination.
According to a Student Affairs survey, 173 out of 271 students assessed said they knew a victim of a hate crime or incident. “Though hate crimes/ incidents occur quite often, most are usually not reported for various reasons,”says Doug Wagoner, intern at the Office of Judicial Affairs. “People may not want to make a big deal out of it, or may not know who to turn to.”
The week of facilitating dialogue against hate continued with a variety of workshops, including a summit on Feb.9th themed “Does Hate Exist On UCSB”? and “Intro to Hate Crimes/Incidences at UCSB”, which explored the differences between hate 'crimes' and 'incidents'. There were also workshops touching subjects not usually broached such as “What Does It Mean to Be Whitewashed?” and “Self-Defense 101”.
We invite organizations to partner with us to take a Stand Against Racism. Learn more: www.StandAgainstRacism.org
