Not In Our Town: Light In The Darkness follows a community in crisis after the fatal attack of a local immigrant resident. Stunned by the violence, diverse community stakeholders openly confront the crime and the divisive atmosphere, and commit to ongoing actions to prevent future hate crimes and intolerance.
Not In Our Town Videos (All)
Not In Our Town traveled to Charleston, SC to document stories from the community in the days after the horrific hate crime attack that took the lives of nine members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015. This short video is designed to prompt reflection and discussion for community and faith groups about how we can take local action in response to hate.
When a white supremacist starts buying up tracts of land in the small farming town of Leith, North Dakota, civic leaders wonder how they alone can resist plans to establish Leith as a Nazi enclave. When members of the National Socialist Movement come to visit, supporters from across the state also come, swelling the ranks of the local townsfolk from just over a dozen to a couple of hundred united in their message, "Not In Our State."
Update: Leith, North Dakota Mayor Moves to Dissolve Town to Stop White Supremacist Takeover (June 26, 2018)
"Who is this group that's coming? And I realized ... it's Fred Phelps and my heart just dropped. I can't believe they're coming. Why us? Out of all the schools, why us?"
—Daisy Renazco, Gunn High School teacher
Above is one of NIOT.org's most popular videos, "Gunn High School Sings Away Hate Group," which has garnered more than 225,000 views on our YouTube channel. Ellen DeGeneres, in a Tweet, said she was "so unbelievably proud of Gunn High School in Palo Alto, CA for demonstrating love & acceptance in a peaceful way."
What's significant about this video is that it showcases how a community can stand up to hate in a peaceful and constructive way. The video was shot in 2010, when the Kansas hate group known as the Westboro Baptist Church (Fred Phelps' family) announced they would picket Bay Area schools and Jewish institutions. The students of Gunn High School, located in Palo Alto, Calif., decided they could not sit quietly.
Not In Our Town hosted a National Leadership Gathering from June 20-22, 2014 in Billings, MT, the city that sparked the Not In Our Town movement 20 years ago. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock's kicked off the Gathering with a welcome speech.
In total, the Gathering brought together leaders from 46 communities in 21 states. From mayors and police chiefs to community activists and educators, the room was full of over 200 people committed to making their towns and schools safe for their children and their neighbors.
People across the country talk about the importance of standing together to stop hate and build safe and inclusive communities for all. Hear their stories and why they're part of Not In Our Town.
At Orange High School in Pepper Pike, Ohio, students are mapping their school to locate the spaces where bullying takes place. After identifying the "bully hotspots," including the cafeteria, media lab, and locker rooms, students created a flash freeze demonstration to raise awareness about bullying, and opened the conversation about how to create a safer school.
Kansas City teens joined together to organize a walk in honor of those killed at the Jewish Community Center and Village Shalom on April 18.
After Sasha Fleischman, an agender teen is set on fire on an Oakland bus, local high school students hold a No Hate basketball event.
An excerpt of the critically acclaimed PBS special that sparked a national movement against hate and intolerance tells the uplifting story of how the residents of Billings, Montana, joined together when their neighbors were threatened by white supremacists. Townspeople of all races and religions swiftly moved into action. Religious and community leaders, labor union volunteers, law enforcement, the local newspapers and concerned individuals stood united and spoke loudly for a hate-free community, proclaiming in no uncertain terms "Not In Our Town!"