Greetings!

Already, the challenges are all around us in 2018. But people are standing together, and in a powerful sign of hope and action, young people are leading the way.

Not In Our Town helps give communities the tools they need to stop hate and build inclusion. An essential part of that effort is engaging key civic institutions to work with diverse community members and young people to make change. 
 
In the first two months of 2018, we’ve seen remarkable actions from local communities engaged with NIOT. We wanted to share a few highlights with the people who make our work possible.

Community Action Highlights

Mill Valley student leader Glo Robinson speaks up
Movement in Marin
On February 13, NIOT joined NIOT Marin for two screenings at College of Marin with overflow crowds. The events followed a publicity and engagement campaign that included a full page ad in the local newspaper listing the 200 leaders and residents who signed the pledge to stop hate and build inclusion; an endorsement resolution by the Marin County Board of Supervisors; and an OP-Ed supporting NIOT efforts signed by the District Attorney, County School Superintendent and President of the Board of Supervisors. 

Here  is a brief account about the Marin event that includes a slide show from the screenings. We have developed a simple survey to measure engagement and impact of NIOT events. We will be sharing more about this soon.
Community Action Highlights

Action Summit in Silicon Valley
In January, NIOT partnered with Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center for an Action Summit that gathered 200 civic and community leaders to address divisions and intolerance. NIOT became involved there through the  Divided Community Project . San Mateo County is one of the five regions the Divided Community Project is studying, and we are working to see how NIOT fits as a model here. We are planning three community events with this group in late Spring/ Early Summer. Contra Costa County NIOT groups and Silicon Valley cities are on the list, as well. We will report more on this soon. 
Berkeshires Lead Change
k In the aftermath of racial bias incidents in Berkshire County during the previous school year, Not In Our County is making strides, passing a resolution to honor W.E.B. Du Bois (who was born in Berkshire County). With city council members, senators and more signing the pledge to stop hate, NIOT Berkshire County partnered with the RISE for Social Justice program at Monument Mountain Regional High School to have over 100 students sign the pledge to stop hate and build inclusion. Read about the student action here

Bend Oregon leaders will host NIOT leader Patrice O'Neill for a film screening on March 5 and a half day workshop on on March 6 to train community members in the NIOT model.
State Department and FBI present NIOT 
NIOT recently hosted seven German leaders working on hate crime prevention in a program sponsored by the U.S. State Department. We were able to share approaches and concerns and look forward to what new partnerships may bring.

On March 8, NIOT films and the community action model will be presented at the FBI's Hate Crime Symposium for Northern California Law Enforcement and Community Leaders.

For those of you who couldn't join us, our February 2 "Thank You Gathering" with supporters and friends was great fun and a real success.  At the event, we started filming a series of interviews about What's at Stake in the Fight Against Hate . Look for the March NIOT eNews for some clips from the project.
Lastly - stay tuned for the upcoming release of our new Hate Response Action Kits for Communities, Schools, Campus and Law Enforcement Groups, produced in partnership with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. 
Thank you so much for your generous support of Not In Our Town.
We could not do this without you! 
Patrice O'Neill
Founder & Executive Producer
Not In Our Town: Stop Hate. Together.