knoxville | Not in Our Town

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Not In Our Town needs your help. NIOT is trying to raise funds that will allow us to provide more communities with tools that will help them not only address hate as it happens but also prevent hate from happening in the first place.   For most of us, summer is a time of vacation and relaxation. Here at Not In Our Town, we worry. Some of the most heinous and high profile hate crimes have occurred in summers past.   The Summer of Hate in 1999 was particularly dreadful.  In a series of violent hate attacks by "lone wolf" white supremacists, five people were killed across the country. Communities in California, Illinois and Indiana were terrorized as synagogues were torched, day care centers attacked, and well-loved local citizens—Gay, African-American, and Asian-American—lost their lives at the hands of virulently bigoted murderers.   
  Supporters gathered with TVUUC members for a group photo before the "Instruments of Peace" anniversary event (Photo Courtesy: Karen Krogh)  One year ago this week, a man armed with a shotgun and filled with hatred entered Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church (TVUUC) while congregants performed the theatre production “Annie.” As Jim Adkisson opened fire on the packed sanctuary, he took the lives of two people and injured six. The unemployed truck driver later confessed to hating liberals and gays.