One of Not In Our Town's newest chapters is NIOT-Northport in Long Island, N.Y. The group started during the pandemic in the summer of 2020 with eight members and has grown to become a major force in the Northport community with a very active Facebook page and Instagram following. They've also given out over 500 lawn signs, as well as car magnets, posters, sweatshirts and other gear. 

Recently NIOT National zoomed in with four of its founding members — Joanne, Meghan, Molly, and Chrissy — to talk about the amazing work they are doing in their community and their plans for 2022.

Tuesday, March 8, is International Women's Day. Each year has a theme and this year's #BreakTheBias.

Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for women to move ahead. Knowing that bias exists isn’t enough, action is needed to level the playing field.

Individually, we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day.

We can break the bias in our communities.

We can break the bias in our workplaces.

We can break the bias in our schools, colleges and universities.

Together, we can all break the bias - on International Women's Day (IWD) and beyond.

Strike the IWD 2022 pose and share your #BreakTheBias image, video, resources, presentation or articles on social media using #IWD2022 #BreakTheBias to encourage further people to commit to helping forge an inclusive world. Learn more.

We are so very grateful to our amazing partner Learn From History and the panelists who shared ideas about how parents, teachers, school leaders and community members can counter the backlash on discussions of history, racism, inclusion and identity in our schools. We look forward to learning about how you are bringing the lessons from this event to your town or school.

Standing up for teaching the truth and creating safe and inclusive school environments for all children can counter extremist efforts to censor discussions of racism and history in our schools. Use your voice and encourage people you know to speak up as well. Remember, we are in the broad majority here. For the sake of students, teachers, and the future, we cannot remain silent.

Go to NIOT.org and you can watch (or rewatch) the conversation. Share it with family, friends, community members and others as a resource on this very important issue. We’ve included action steps and links to the resources mentioned in the conversation. 

"It’s typical behavior for this group who are fringe extremists who are trying to project their hate-filled messaging. And try to give an air that they are larger and more widespread than they actually are," Seth Brysk, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, told KTVU News.

“Let's make no mistake, these flyers are meant to frighten and harm the Jewish community and spread a message of hate and lies to everyone who sees them,” said Patrice O’Neill, CEO/Executive Producer of Not In Our Town. “As we seek to respond, let's be careful about what we amplify. We are stronger than hate, and our communities need to educate themselves on the spread of antisemitism and hate speech that continue to circulate.”

“These flyers are only one manifestation of the problem. The hate speech that is being spread online reaches our young people on a daily basis. The most vital thing we can do is stand up and speak out when we hear or see messages that dehumanize and target our neighbors. We can stop hate, antisemitism and racism, together.”

Bay Area city and county leaders and law enforcement released immediate messages to their communities.

Local NIOT groups like NIOT Novato urged the community to take actions. Here is their message:

NIOT Novato is calling upon our entire community to stand with our Jewish neighbors by using the creative force of our community, our students, our schools, and our businesses to vocalize our support by standing up and speaking out against hate. Your ideas and actions can make a real difference.

We are asking for anyone who witnesses anti-Jewish racism, to file a report. Let’s make the problem visible so we can visibly and concretely respond. The Novato Police Department has an online hate incident reporting form, and the Marin County District Attorney’s Office Hate Crime Hotline, 415-473-2585. 

Right now you can start by checking in and asking our friends and neighbors who are Jewish or impacted by these racist acts if they need support and what you can do to help.