Camille Taylor for the WJBC Forum. Credit: WJBC [1]
The first amendment to the Constitution is freedom of religion. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of American Muslims to build a temple in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The lawsuit was filed in 2010 after the Rutherford County planning commission granted a building permit for the mosque [2]. The opponents attempted to convince the community that the Muslims were a threat and used a variety of tactics to halt construction of the Islamic Center.
Court victories don’t always change hearts and minds as evidenced by discrimination and disparities that still exist despite laws to address this. However, the courageous local government officials in Murfreesboro had a “Not In Our Town” mentality when they treated the building application from the Muslim community like applications from any other religious community. Not In Our Town (NIOT) is a national movement to stop hate, address bullying, and build safe, inclusive communities for all. The twin cities have been a part of this movement for almost 20 years.
I’m in Billings, Montana this weekend celebrating the 20th anniversary of NIOT [3]. Stories will be shared about successes and challenges in cities across the country. Dontae Latson, CEO of the YWCA, and Suresh Krishna, a State Farm employee, are members of the Bloomington Human Relations Commission and also attending the conference. We will share/get ideas and learn strategies on how our towns can achieve “Gold Star” status.
Our goal is for Bloomington/Normal to revisit and revitalize the efforts started so many years ago by folks like Barb Adkins, Mike Matejka, Marc and Darlene Miller, Rev. McSwain, and Charles and Willie Halbert. It’s interesting to note that our community didn’t experience litigation or smear tactics when an Islamic Center was built here in Bloomington. I would like to think the efforts of our local NIOT movement made a difference.
There’s still one unresolved lawsuit remaining in the Murfreesboro situation and that is the right to build a cemetery. It is also interesting to note that in 1929, angry citizens in Murfreesboro marched to the courthouse to try to block the construction of the town’s first Catholic Church. Today, there are 2,000 families attending St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Murfreesboro. Eighty years ago the country was at the height of an anti-Catholic movement. So, as history repeats itself with yet another religion, I remain hopeful that NIOT will always prevail.
This is Camille Taylor’s piece for the WJBC Forum. Tune in 8:40 am, 12:40 pm & 5:40 pm CST on Friday, June 20—the first day of the Not In Our Town National Leadership Gathering—to hear it on the air [1]. Join Camille at the Gathering this weekend. Learn more here [3].