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)
Video Category: Hate Groups
"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.
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!"
When the Kansas hate group known as the Westboro Baptist Church (Fred Phelps' family) announced they would picket Bay Area schools and Jewish institutions, students at Gunn High School decided they could not sit quietly. (3 min 34 sec)
Check out our Local Lesson, Helping High Schoolers Take the Lead, which features an interview with Gunn High School Principal Noreen Likins.
This promo features scenes from an upcoming PBS special about three stories of students and their communities standing together to stop hate and bullying.
Not In Our Town counters hate by producing media that connects and inspires people to create inclusive communities.
This video is a 4 minute excerpt from a 30-minute special we produced about communities uniting against hate. The full film can be found here.
To learn more about Not In Our Town, check out the rest of our website or contact info@theworkinggroup.org.
Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/notinourtown
In June 2010, the Aryan Nations came to Gettysburg to hold a rally on the on the historic battlefield where Abraham Lincoln delivered his most stirring defense of American democracy. The Adams Unity Coalition, a group made up of several local organizations, came together to hold their own peaceful rally across town that celebrated and embraced the diversity in their community.
Read more about this rally from in our blog post, Tainting the Ground where Abe Lincoln Walked and in our Local Lesson, Historic Gettysburg Battlefield "Re-consecrated" after Hate Group Rally.
Join the conversation on the NIOT Facebook Page.
Credits:
Executive Producer: Patrice O'Neill
Producer: Kirthi Nath
Editor: Jill Strong
Camera: Steve Sapienza
Music: David Molina
Additional rally footage courtesy of Russia TV
When Fred Phelps' hate group pickets at Lowell High School in San Francisco, students rally to show their love for their diverse, inclusive community (3 min 7 sec).
This excerpt of "Not In Our Town Northern California: When Hate Happens Here" details the story of the family of Gary Matson, who was murdered with his partner, Winfield Mowder, in their Redding, California, home by white supremacists. The two brothers, Benjamin Matthew Williams and James Tyler Williams, confessed to killing the couple July 1, 1999, because they were gay, and were also responsible for the 1999 Sacramento synagogue bombings. (3:16)This film is part of the hour-long Not In Our Town: Northern California special. Click here to purchase the DVD and download our free educator guide here.
Reversing Vandalism chronicles the library's search for the book vandal, and the librarians' decision to offer the damaged books to artists as materials for creative expression and community healing.
This film is part of the hour-long Not In Our Town: Northern California special. Click here to purchase the DVD and download our free educator guide here.