NFWL Member Senator Geraldine Thompson partnered with the Florida Holocaust Museum and other organizations to present Examining Hate: A Town Hall Meeting.
ORLANDO (August 15, 2016) – Senator Geraldine F. Thompson will partner with the Sankofa Project, the Florida Holocaust Museum and other organizations to present Examining Hate: A Town Hall Meeting. Other organizations collaborating in the event include the Anti-Defamation League, American Muslim Democratic Caucus, Equality Florida, the Center for Independent Living, Florida Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Florida Council of Churches, Interfaith Council of Central Florida, Central Florida Freethought Community, NAACP, and #BLACKLIVESMATTERFL. The Examining Hate Town Hall will be held on August 26, 2016 from 1:00pm – 5:00pm at FAMU College of Law located at 201 Beggs Avenue, Orlando, FL 32805.
Examining Hate: A Town Hall Meeting will focus on recent tragedies throughout America such as killings in Dallas, Baton Rouge and Orlando at the Pulse Nightclub. Participants will identify instances where they or members of their group have been targets of hate. Ways in which hate is manifested in American society will be examined with the objective of modifying destructive behavior.
A take away of Examining Hate: A Town Hall Meeting will the development of effective strategies which can be implemented in diverse communities to diminish acts motived by hate. Senator Thompson said, “At the core of recent tragedies throughout the Country is hate and ways it is expressed in society. By bringing together those who are sometimes victimized by hate and developing ways to address it, we can move forward toward healing”. For further information, contact Senator Thompson’s District office at 407-245-1511.
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“At the core of recent tragedies throughout the country is hate and ways it is expressed in society. By having brought together those who are sometimes victimized by hate and developing ways to address it we can move forward toward healing. I was proud to have sponsored this event as Florida’s District 12 State Senator, from which we have been able to craft a white paper of solutions on ways we can forge a path onward.”
Check out the solutions below:
Examining Hate Town Hall Meeting White Paper
Examining Hate: A Town Hall Meeting was sponsored by Senator Geraldine F. Thompson on August 26, 2016 at the Florida A&M University College of Law. The following organizations were participating partners in the Town Hall:
- Sankofa Project
- The Florida Holocaust Museum
- The Anti-Defamation League
- American Muslim Democratic Caucus
- Equality Florida
- Florida Coalition on Black Civic Participation
- Florida Council on Churches
- Central Florida Freethought Community
- Center for Independent Living
- NAACP
- Interfaith Council of Central Florida
- The National Action Network
Following a plenary where group members shared how they had experienced and been impacted by hate, breakout sessions were held to develop strategies to combat hate. Identified strategies are shown below:
EDUCATION
- Create a curriculum for a formal education program which can be adopted by schools to re-educate youth. (Pre-K – 12) and promote peace and conflict resolution
- Lobby school districts to implement curriculum featuring the contributions of people of color and women
- Engage in school outreach to work with student groups, classes and on-campus organizations
- Teach conflict resolution in schools
- Request that public schools develop and implement programs focusing on anger management and conflict resolution
COMMUNITY
- Organize efforts to bring various groups together to break bread and talk about the tough issues in order to build trust by spending time together
- Encourage open conversations in order to allow people to ask questions that they would be afraid to ordinarily
- Confront Classism and Economics as motivators of Hate/Class or Caste systems inside minority cultures – holding our own cultures accountable to deal with bigotries within the cultures
- Establish a peace community garden
- Develop and sponsor community forums including intergenerational events where different individuals, groups and organizations can engage in constructive dialogue
- Utilize public service announcements to inform citizens of upcoming forums
TASK FORCE
- Create a Combating Hate Task Force – Designed to reach out to communities/sports organizations, etc.
- Develop support groups
- Pursue a grant to help unemployed individuals get jobs
- Create Public Service Announcements
- Involve key celebrities
- Seek youth perspectives
- Become defenders of other groups
IDEAS MOVING FORWARD
- Address polarization in politics
- Find champions in ALL groups to help lead the work.
- Pursue anti-hate legislation
- Understand rhetoric/power of words
- Foster coalitions in an effort to build solidarity
- Present panelists from a multitude of groups on a monthly or regularly scheduled basis
- Highlight how individuals are viewed as “others” or demonized in order to justify annihilation.