Not In Our Town: Light In The Darkness follows a community in crisis after the fatal attack of a local immigrant resident. Stunned by the violence, diverse community stakeholders openly confront the crime and the divisive atmosphere, and commit to ongoing actions to prevent future hate crimes and intolerance.
Video Category: Racism
Not In Our Town traveled to Charleston, SC to document stories from the community in the days after the horrific hate crime attack that took the lives of nine members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on June 17, 2015. This short video is designed to prompt reflection and discussion for community and faith groups about how we can take local action in response to hate.
Seventh graders at Orinda Intermediate School are taking a personal approach to the study of Islam by inviting Shajee Syed-Quadri to be a guest speaker in their world history class. As president of the Muslim Student Association at Irvington High School, Shajee shares stories about what it's like to be a typical American teenager and a practicing Muslim. This peer-to-peer program breaks down religious and cultural stereotypes, and provides the space for students to connect and learn from each other. This film is part of a series featuring Facing History and Ourselves.
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)
"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!"
The Not In Our Town team went to the streets of downtown Oakland to ask residents what they would like to see change in the aftermath of Ferguson.
Video produced by Diana Wendel, with Jeremy Jue and Cassandra Belson. Stills courtesy of Berkeleyside.
Not In Our Town filmed the NAACP Youth March in Ferguson, MO, just weeks after unarmed teen Michael Brown was fatally shot by a police officer in the St. Louis suburb. See how the community came together peacefully for this event after weeks of unrest, hear their ideas for the future, and their hope that the events in their town inspire other communities to stand up to injustice and racism.
A St. Louis couple comes to Ferguson, MO, six weeks after unarmed teen Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer. The memorial for Michael Brown was destroyed by a fire and then rebuilt by the community with handmade signs, balloons, stuffed animals, and a line of roses down the middle of Canfield Drive.
Not In Our Town Northern California: When Hate Happens Here takes a regional look at five Northern California communities dealing with deadly hate violence over a five-year period. Together, the stories reveal that whether the motivation is racism, anti-Semitism, or crimes motivated by gender or sexual orientation, hate is the same. But Californians are finding innovative ways to respond when hate happens here.
A co-production with KQED-TV.