Following the premiere broadcast of Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness on PBS, many communities across the country joined the campaign against hate and intolerance by hosting screenings and using the film to start a conversation about hate and intolerance in their areas.
Here is a glimpse of last week’s events. Stay tuned for more news from our community, national, and public media partners.
“Birmingham Area Screening of ‘Not In Our Town’ a Big Hit,” Leeds Herald, Sept. 22The Leeds Herald staff joined concerned citizens as well as business, civic, religious and organization leaders at the Birmingham International Center in Birmingham, Ala., for a public screening of Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness on Sept. 21. The screening was hosted by the local Birmingham office of the FBI and drew “a diverse audience,” according to Lyndon Laster, law enforcement coordination manager for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Read about the screening in the Leeds Herald article here [1].
“Film on N.Y. hate crime fosters community discussion,” Billings Gazette, Sept. 22
In Billings, Mont., the Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness screening engaged the Not In Our Town Billings [2] group and community members in a conversation about how efforts to prevent and react to hate crimes could be implemented in Montana.
According to an article [3] in the Billings Gazette, the film also paved the way to a discussion about issues specific to the Billings community, including a local white supremacist and hate group as well as the treatment of American Indians.
“Groups help immigrants, local residents learn to coexist,” Scripps Howard Foundation Wire, Sept. 22
Left to right: Laurent Gilbert, David Lubell, Michael Byan, Patrice
O'Neill,and Vanessa Cardenas discuss issues of immigrant
integration into communities. Photo Source: Scripps Howard [4]
Foundation Wire [4]
The Center for American Progress [5] hosted a presentation on Sept. 20 about an initiative called “Stronger Together: Community Integration of Newcomers,” highlighting organizations across the country that advocate for tolerance and immigration integration in communities.
Patrice O’Neill, executive producer of Not in Our Town: Light in the Darkness was one of the featured speakers. According to the article published in the Scripps Howard Foundation Wire [4], the speakers described “changes brought by integrating new immigrants into the community as necessary,” and talked about the importance of promoting a more positive view of immigrants.
To read the full article, click here [4].
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