This guest blog post comes from a concerned member with Not In Our Town Princeton, a vibrant group in the NIOT community. In this opinion piece, the author addresses hate crimes and discrimination against the Muslim community in the U.S. The author finds hope in civil rights organizations, good Samaritans and interfaith movements.
The tragedy of 9/11 struck all of us very hard but perhaps the community most affected by this tragic event in the history of our nation is the American Muslim community. While American Muslims grieved on 9/11, they also worked side by side with ground zero rescue workers and first responders. American Muslims also gathered supplies for the rescue workers at Ground Zero.
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March 23, 2011 - 3:12pm
Community members in Oakland, CA are using digital media to give public testament to the richness and diversity of their neighborhood in a city often plagued with a negative and violent image in the media.
“There’s wonderful things and there’s real people here with real stories and we’re giving people outside of East Oakland a fresh or new perspective and interaction with East Oakland residents,” said Anthony Propernick, the senior library assistant to the neighborhood’s new public library that houses a digital storytelling station.
Not In Our Town—which also believes in the power of story and of individuals to change communities for the better—joined the public art project Our Oakland: Eastside Stories at the new 81st Avenue branch of the Oakland Public Library for a community-building celebration in February. Organizations and residents of East Oakland came together to share their stories and make connections.
March 21, 2011 - 11:54am
Interfaith residents of Elk Grove, Calif. gathered on March 11 for a prayer vigil to honor two elderly Sikh community members who were gunned down early this month during their routine walk through the neighborhood. One of the victims in the shooting, 67-year-old Surinder Singh, suffered fatal wounds while his friend, 78-year-old Gurmej Atwal, remains in critical condition.
East Stockton Boulevard, a busy Elk Grove road was temporarily closed to traffic as residents of different ethnicities and religions lit candles and listened as a series of speakers, including the grandson and granddaughters of Singh, spoke solemnly about the tragic loss of their family member.
Many members of the community fear that the shootings were a hate-motivated crime and that the two might have been mistaken for people of Muslim faith. Just feet away from where the two were shot, Sikh and Muslim residents called for interfaith acceptance and respect.
Not In Our Town features this video of the Elk Grove community standing up to religious intolerance.
March 18, 2011 - 3:04pm
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon and San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Victor Hwang speak to hate crime victims and the larger community.
March 10, 2011 - 6:34pm
From SacBee.com: Navi Kaur, granddaughter of shooting victim Surinder Singh, said "our grandfather wore his turban proudly. Our community will continue to wear their turbans proudly... . It is not acceptable to target anyone based on their appearance, religion or color of their skin." Read more.
Elk Grove, Calif. residents of multiple faiths will come together for a prayer vigil this Friday at the intersection of East Stockton Boulevard and Geneva Point Drive, where two elderly Sikh friends were gunned down during their routine afternoon walk last Friday afternoon.