In Not In Our Town: Light In the Darkness, the Patchogue-Medford Library plays a pivotal role as a safe haven for the local immigrant community. In Fall 2008, librarian Jean Kaleda and librarian assistant Gilda Ramos learned that people were afraid to attend evening ESL classes at the library for fear of being attacked while walking the streets at night. The librarians were in the process of organizing a public meeting with local officials to address their concerns. A week later, Marcelo Lucero was murdered and the library became a place for healing and dialogue.
Videos
Here you will find short films that you can use in your town, school, or department.
This is the opening sequence for Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness, a powerful new documentary special about a town in New York standing together to take action after anti-immigrant violence devastates their community and thrusts them into the international media spotlight. The film will premiere on PBS on Sept. 21, 2011.
For more information, visit: http://www.niot.org/lightinthedarkness
After transgender teen Gwen Araujo is killed by local youth in the Silicon Valley suburb of Newark, the town's residents and civic leaders must acknowledge and deal with this brutal and preventable crime. Through their local high school production of The Laramie Project, the students and Newark residents begin to see parallels in their own community. This film is part of the hour-long Not In Our Town: Northern California special. Click here to purchase the DVD.
In the aftermath of the fatal beating of José Sucuzhañay, members of Brooklyn's immigrant and LGBTQ communities came together to brainstorm hate crime prevention strategies.
Across the country, students and teachers are sharing stories, joining together and taking action to create safe schools, free from stereotypes, intolerance, and hate. They’re part of a movement called Not In Our School (NIOS).
For more than a decade, Not In Our School has inspired students of all ages to develop and share innovative ways to resist bullying and promote an atmosphere of acceptance and inclusion.
Students work with administrators, law enforcement and community members to forge new bonds after racially charged actions shake their community. When racist tweets and “white power” graffiti leave students feeling threatened and unsafe, the campus and community of Bowling Green unite to take a stand against hate and join the national Not In Our Town movement.
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.
"We are all Americans in this country."
—Fred Korematsu (1919-2005)
Every January, Not In Our Town honors Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy by sharing the real life stories of people who are applying Dr. King’s principles today. Though the political landscape has changed since the Civil Rights era, his dream that the United States would fulfill its promise of equality has yet to become reality. But Dr. King’s work proves that change is indeed possible in this country.
In the aftermath of a hate crime, how do teachers open a conversation with their students about hate and intolerance? After seven high school students assaulted and killed Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero in Patchogue, NY, local educators were shocked that this could happen in their town. At South Ocean Middle School, Principal Linda Pickford wanted to create a safe environment where her students could express their feelings about the tragedy, and share their ideas about diversity, immigration, inclusion and respect.
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