Not In Our Town was created by and for people in local communities who are finding new and better ways for everyone to feel accepted and welcome.
Unfortunately, many towns and schools were introduced to Not In Our Town because of a hate crime. In the face of these crimes, some inspiring and creative actions have helped build a new sense of community. Other areas have launched local and school-based groups that are taking proactive steps to prevent hate crimes. No matter what sparked the action, we have so much to learn from the steps these people have taken. That¹s why The Working Group created this site.
Here's an overview of how the Not In Our Town site works, and how you can participate:
The Map shows us where hate crimes are happening, but more importantly, it's a place to find stories of people standing up to intolerance. Click on the red dots to learn about acts of hate. Click the green dots to view videos and stories of how individuals and groups are responding. Share what you're doing to fight hate, and you can earn a green dot on the map.
niot.org
Thank you for your interest in writing for the NIOT.org blog. Like our films, our blog features stories, solutions and discussions relevant to those who are working together to make their towns and schools safe and inclusive for all.
We are interested in blog posts that address or model the following:
What communities and schools can do when hate comes to town
What communities and schools can do to prevent hate, bias and intolerance
Student led anti-bullying and anti-bias activities, programs, and solutions
Anti-hate or anti-bias activities or campaigns in communities and towns
The role of educators, civic leaders, law enforcement and/or interfaith leaders in the fight against hate and intolerance
Supporting victims of hate
The hate crime reporting gap
Guest posts should:
Be useful to the Not In Our Town community
Not be self-promotional or include marketing links, though authors may link back to their site in their author bio (see below)
Be original, and include hyperlinks to source all facts quoted in the blog post
Length: 500-750 words
Here's another way you can stay connected with the latest Not In Our Town updates and videos: the NIOT Widget.
Click the "Get Widget" tab on the bottom of the widget below, and you'll be able to embed the widget on your website, iGoogle homepage, Wordpress blog, Facebook page, Twitter profile, and more.
Want to find out more about widgets? Check out this post from the Widgetbox knowledge base.
//-->
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.
San Francisco, CA: More than 200 NIOT members, community leaders, elected officials, friends, and supporters gathered at the Bay Area Video Coalition last night to celebrate the public launch of NIOT.org.
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom proclaimed April 6, 2010, as Not In Our Town Day, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent her congratulations from DC. Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and District Attorney Victor Hwang spoke about the importance of communities coming together to stand up against hate violence.
Editor's Note: If you'd like to learn how to use NIOT.org, please see our Getting Started article.
It takes a village to build an anti-hate site.