Never has it been more important to be an upstander. If there is any upside to this moment, it's that people across the country are standing up for their neighbors and community in the fight against hate and intolerance.  We witness this every day, and the past few weeks at Not In Our Town have reminded us what's at stake, and what's possible. 

It's been a busy September at Not In Our Town. We screened Light in the Darkness at a community gathering in Mill Valley of parents, students and local leaders united against the outbreak of racist graffiti . Patrice participated in the Women in the World Summit in Toronto. And on September 12, Not In Our Town was invited to participate in a panel on fighting intolerance in the Bay area.

Read more below. And please share with your networks!

300 gather in Mill Valley Community Center for Light in the Darkness screening
Mill Valley Parents, Students and Community Speak Up About Intolerance at School

After racist graffiti appeared on the walls of Tamalpais High School, directed at the prinicipal, parents, teachers and community leaders quickly organized a Not In Our Town screening and discussion. 

The screening was followed by a candid conversation with four high school students about their experiences dealing with hate and intolerance and how the school and community can address these challenges. 

The Mill Valley Community Center was filled to capacity and although much of what was shared was difficult to hear, the commitment in the room to listening to one another was palpable. These are the kinds of conversations that support the building of bridges.

Stay tuned for video of the event coming soon.


Patrice O'Neill with Felicia Sanders and Pardeep Kaleka
Patrice with Felicia and Sandeep
NIOT Founder Patrice O'Neill speaks at Women in the World 

Felicia Sanders, survivor of the hate crime killings at her church in Charleston, opened the panel at the Women in the World Summit in Toronto sponsored by Tina Brown Live Media.  NIOT leader Patrice O'Neill joined Felicia, Pardeep Kaleka from Oak Creek, WI. and Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center to discuss the dangers of hate and what we can do. Watch the full panel discussion at the bottom link on the story
here .
 
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NCG Sept 12 Fighting Intolerance Panel
Fighting Intolerance in the Bay Area _ NCG
Leaders at the forefront of fighting hate share their strategies with NCG members

The leaders at the helm of Bay area organizations NIOT, No Bully, the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) and Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus shared their expertise with funders at the forum organized by the Northern California Grantmakers (NCG). 


SUPPORT NIOT
We're thrilled to announce we just received a grant from the Herb Block Foundation for our Rapid Response Initiatives. 

If you'd like to support this timely work, please donate now by clicking on the donate button or contact us for this and other initiatives you can support.  We urgently need funds to do more at this critical time. 

Together we can face fear and hate and run it right out of our towns.  



Questions, concerns, or ideas? Email  [email protected] .