Yamil owns Border’s Coffee, a small cafe and restaurant in El Castillo, a beautiful town along the San Juan River in Nicaragua.Yamil has experienced harrassment as a result of being the only openly gay person in his small town. Yamil has not only been subjected to hateful anti-gay slurs and threats, but also attempts to shut down his business.
LGTBQ
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."
Why do you care about standing up to hate and intolerance? This is the question Not In Our Town is posing with a new video campaign, and we want YOU to be a part of it! We're asking you to make a video response to tell your story of why you're ready to stand up to hate.
Make your video:
Make a video telling us in 1-2 sentences why YOU personally feel inspired to take a stand against hate and intolerance. You can do this any way you like: use your flip cam, cell phone camera, laptop, or even make a text video. Then upload your video response to our YouTube video campaign page. Finally, share the video with at least 3 friends- you can use the "send to a friend" button below or, Facebook is also an easy way to do this! We are exciting to see your video!
Want to participate, but feeling stumped? Here are some writing prompts to get your ideas, feelings, and thoughts flowing. Write whatever comes to mind and let it flow. After this brainstorm, you will come up with your 1-2 sentence answer, but for this part, just write what comes to mind.