NIOT National Director To Frame Hate Crime Film Discussion

Patrice O'Neill, executive director of the national movement Not In Our Town is coming to Bloomington's Moses Montefiore Congregation Nov. 2, along with a timely documentary on hate in modern-day America.

Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness is a one-hour documentary about a town coming together to take action after anti-immigrant violence devastates the community. In 2008, a series of attacks against Latino residents of Patchogue, New York culminate with the murder of Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorian immigrant who had lived in the Long Island village for 13 years.

Over a two-year period, the story follows Mayor Paul Pontieri, the victim’s brother, Joselo Lucero, and Patchogue residents as they openly address the underlying causes of the violence, work to heal divisions, and begin taking steps to ensure everyone in their village will be safe and respected.

Camille: Resolutions and Resolute Action

Camille Taylor

WJBC Forum

Rather than make resolutions I don’t keep, I focus on my hopes and dreams for the New Year. Here’s my list.

I hope to increase my advocacy for things I support, as well as things I’m against. I will use a variety of information sources to learn how best to advocate such as news updates from the League of Women Voters, Organizing for Action, and Action 36. I plan to be vigilant about what our legislators at the state and national level are doing and won’t hesitate to contact them to share my thoughts whether it involves the lack of an agreement to develop a state budget or the intent of the Republicans to repeal Obamacare.

I will be closely watching the new president, hoping that he will demonstrate responsibility and respect for the position he was elected to. I will not be silent if he chooses to be the Commander and Chief via Twitter using harmful and inflammatory rhetoric like he did during the campaign, nor will I be silent about cabinet choices who have demonstrated divisiveness and harm to our country via their past policy and/or business decisions.

I hope to increase the presence of the Not In Our School efforts locally, as well as continue to work with Not In Our Town to make our community more safe and inclusive for everyone. I hope to connect more with family and friends even without the benefit of social media. I don’t want to ever lose that “personal touch” that lets people know I care about them and love them.

I hope I’m healthy and strong, so that I can continue to care for those I love. I dream that students who depend on financial aid for college and people who have basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter can be served despite the stalemate in Springfield. I hope and dream for peace in our world whether domestic or abroad.

I hope that people will take the time to look at their source for accurate news as opposed to reading ‘fake news” and then using this information to make decisions and form opinions. I hope I learn new things this year and use that knowledge to benefit others. Last, I hope that people begin to acknowledge that “words matter,” and being polite and using good old fashioned manners should not be the exception, but the rule.

NIOTBN, Renner on Hand for Legacy Wall Arrival

Victor Salvo, the founder and executive director of the Legacy Project, shared remarks at the opening reception for the Legacy Wall, a traveling exhibit featuring stories of LGBT individuals who have made a significant impact in the world on display at Illinois Wesleyan University.

Other speakers included IWU Provost Jonathan Green, Equality Illinois Field Fellow Marcus Fogliano, Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner, and Rev. Kelley Becker, associate pastor of First Christian Church, Bloomington, representing Not In Our Town: Bloomington-Normal, one of the sponsors of the exhibit. The Wall will be available at IWU through Feb. 13.

Mayor Tari Renner eyes the exhibit.

The Legacy Wall is a one-of-a-kind traveling exhibit that features "mini-biographies" of LGBT people from every walk of life. Its digitally interactive content is international and multicultural, and has been substantially vetted and sourced.

This exhibit raises awareness of the roles LGBT people have played in shared human history – information which helps to boost the self-esteem of LGBT youth who are raised without the benefit of historically significant role-models. It has also been shown to lessen the incidence of all forms of bullying in our schools by encouraging a culture of mutual respect and tolerance. The goal of the Legacy Wall is to use the powerful lessons of history to spark conversations about this information’s ability to promote a feeling of safety and belonging in the classroom -– giving our children hope by improving their outlook on life.       

The Legacy Project was inspired the first time the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt was shown at the National March on Washington for LGBT Civil Rights in 1987. At that time, there was no way for gay individuals to know about those who came before them and what they accomplished and The Quilt only seemed to magnify that. 

At that same March LGBT persons celebrated the first "National Coming-Out Day" -- October 11, 1987. 

In 1991, the City of Chicago instituted the only Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in the world to recognize the contributions of its LGBT citizens both to the city as a whole and the LGBT community. Several years later Chicago once again chose to celebrate LGBT people by installing the first-of-its-kind "Rainbow Pylon" streetscape on North Halsted Street. The combination of Chicago's annual Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame inductions and the 1998 dedication of the "Northalsted Corridor" as the nexus of the LGBT Community helped to crystallize the concept of The Legacy Walk; for finally there existed a place where the contributions of LGBT people from all over the world could be put on public display in the heart of an international city that had opened its arms to its LGBT sons and daughters.

At that same March LGBT persons celebrated the first "National Coming-Out Day" -- October 11, 1987. 

In 1991, the City of Chicago instituted the only Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in the world to recognize the contributions of its LGBT citizens both to the city as a whole and the LGBT community. Several years later Chicago once again chose to celebrate LGBT people by installing the first-of-its-kind "Rainbow Pylon" streetscape on North Halsted Street. The combination of Chicago's annual Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame inductions and the 1998 dedication of the "Northalsted Corridor" as the nexus of the LGBT Community helped to crystallize the concept of The Legacy Walk; for finally there existed a place where the contributions of LGBT people from all over the world could be put on public display in the heart of an international city that had opened its arms to its LGBT sons and daughters.

At that same March LGBT persons celebrated the first "National Coming-Out Day" -- October 11, 1987. 

In 1991, the City of Chicago instituted the only Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in the world to recognize the contributions of its LGBT citizens both to the city as a whole and the LGBT community. Several years later Chicago once again chose to celebrate LGBT people by installing the first-of-its-kind "Rainbow Pylon" streetscape on North Halsted Street. The combination of Chicago's annual Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame inductions and the 1998 dedication of the "Northalsted Corridor" as the nexus of the LGBT Community helped to crystallize the concept of The Legacy Walk; for finally there existed a place where the contributions of LGBT people from all over the world could be put on public display in the heart of an international city that had opened its arms to its LGBT sons and daughters.

At that same March LGBT persons celebrated the first "National Coming-Out Day" -- October 11, 1987. 

In 1991, the City of Chicago instituted the only Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in the world to recognize the contributions of its LGBT citizens both to the city as a whole and the LGBT community. Several years later Chicago once again chose to celebrate LGBT people by installing the first-of-its-kind "Rainbow Pylon" streetscape on North Halsted Street. The combination of Chicago's annual Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame inductions and the 1998 dedication of the "Northalsted Corridor" as the nexus of the LGBT Community helped to crystallize the concept of The Legacy Walk; for finally there existed a place where the contributions of LGBT people from all over the world could be put on public display in the heart of an international city that had opened its arms to its LGBT sons and daughters.

At that same March LGBT persons celebrated the first "National Coming-Out Day" -- October 11, 1987. 

In 1991, the City of Chicago instituted the only Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in the world to recognize the contributions of its LGBT citizens both to the city as a whole and the LGBT community. Several years later Chicago once again chose to celebrate LGBT people by installing the first-of-its-kind "Rainbow Pylon" streetscape on North Halsted Street. The combination of Chicago's annual Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame inductions and the 1998 dedication of the "Northalsted Corridor" as the nexus of the LGBT Community helped to crystallize the concept of The Legacy Walk; for finally there existed a place where the contributions of LGBT people from all over the world could be put on public display in the heart of an international city that had opened its arms to its LGBT sons and daughters.

At that same March LGBT persons celebrated the first "National Coming-Out Day" -- October 11, 1987. 

In 1991, the City of Chicago instituted the only Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in the world to recognize the contributions of its LGBT citizens both to the city as a whole and the LGBT community. Several years later Chicago once again chose to celebrate LGBT people by installing the first-of-its-kind "Rainbow Pylon" streetscape on North Halsted Street. The combination of Chicago's annual Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame inductions and the 1998 dedication of the "Northalsted Corridor" as the nexus of the LGBT Community helped to crystallize the concept of The Legacy Walk; for finally there existed a place where the contributions of LGBT people from all over the world could be put on public display in the heart of an international city that had opened its arms to its LGBT sons and daughters.

At that same March LGBT persons celebrated the first "National Coming-Out Day" -- October 11, 1987. 

In 1991, the City of Chicago instituted the only Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in the world to recognize the contributions of its LGBT citizens both to the city as a whole and the LGBT community. Several years later Chicago once again chose to celebrate LGBT people by installing the first-of-its-kind "Rainbow Pylon" streetscape on North Halsted Street. The combination of Chicago's annual Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame inductions and the 1998 dedication of the "Northalsted Corridor" as the nexus of the LGBT Community helped to crystallize the concept of The Legacy Walk; for finally there existed a place where the contributions of LGBT people from all over the world could be put on public display in the heart of an international city that had opened its arms to its LGBT sons and daughters.

The Legacy Wall will move to Illinois State University's Milner Library from February 15 through 28.

At that same March LGBT persons celebrated the first "National Coming-Out Day" -- October 11, 1987. 

In 1991, the City of Chicago instituted the only Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in the world to recognize the contributions of its LGBT citizens both to the city as a whole and the LGBT community. Several years later Chicago once again chose to celebrate LGBT people by installing the first-of-its-kind "Rainbow Pylon" streetscape on North Halsted Street. The combination of Chicago's annual Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame inductions and the 1998 dedication of the "Northalsted Corridor" as the nexus of the LGBT Community helped to crystallize the concept of The Legacy Walk; for finally there existed a place where the contributions of LGBT people from all over the world could be put on public display in the heart of an international city that had opened its arms to its LGBT sons and daughters.

NIOT:B/N Co-Sponsored Legacy Wall Comes to IWU

The Legacy Wall, a traveling exhibit featuring stories of LGBT individuals who have made a significant impact in the world, opened this week at The Ames Library at Illinois Wesleyan University. The exhibit will be at the university through Feb. 13.

The interactive Legacy Wall features biographies of people who have made contributions in a number of fields. Some of the individuals featured include author Oscar Wilde, U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, British mathematician Alan Turing, and Father Mychal Judge, a chaplain to the New York City Fire Department who was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

The Legacy Wall exhibit was created by the Legacy Project, a Chicago-based nonprofit intended to inform, inspire, enlighten and foster an appreciation for the role LGBT people have played in the advancement of world history and culture. Victor Salvo, the founder and executive director of the Legacy Project, presents remarks at Sunday's opening reception. Other speakers include IWU Provost Jonathan Green, Equality Illinois Field Fellow Marcus Fogliano, Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner, and Rev. Kelley Becker, associate pastor of First Christian Church, Bloomington, representing Not in Our Town, one of the sponsors of the exhibit.

The Legacy Wall is brought to Illinois Wesleyan as part of the “Queer Lives” Speaker and Performer Series at IWU funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Other Illinois Wesleyan sponsors include the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, IWU Pride Alliance, and The Ames Library. Organizers said awareness of the roles LGBT people have played in shared human history helps boost the self-esteem of LGBTQ youth who are raised without the benefit of historically significant role models. The goal of the Legacy Wall exhibit is to use the lessons of history to spark conversations and to promote a feeling of safety and belonging in the classroom. The exhibit includes data linking the teaching of LGBT-related content in schools with lowered incidences of bullying between students.  

The exhibit may be viewed on the entry-level floor of Ames, which is open Sundays 12 noon to 1:30 a.m.; Monday through Thursday 7:45 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.; Friday 7:45 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Saturday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Interfaith Rally to Show Unity, Promote Freedom

Lenore Sobota

The Pantagraph

Amid anti-Islamic rhetoric elsewhere in the country, the anti-discrimination group Not In Our Town hopes to bring people together Wednesday in an interfaith show of solidarity.

The event, at 6 p.m., is planned for the east side of the McLean County Museum of History downtown — the same side where the World War II memorial refers to the “four freedoms” outlined by former President Franklin Roosevelt, including “freedom of worship” and “freedom from fear.”

The Rev. Kelley Becker of First Christian Church, Bloomington, a co-sponsor of the event, said much of the reaction in the wake of attacks in Paris and California is based on fear.

“Fear is so powerful,” Becker said. “We believe love is more powerful than fear.”

The purpose of the event to show “our Islamic brothers and sisters” that “this community is a safe, welcoming place.”

In announcing the event, organizers encouraged people of all faiths or of no particular faith to stand together to show that stereotyping of groups is not acceptable in the Twin Cities.

Other co-sponsors include New Covenant Community, the Presbytery of Great Rivers interfaith group and the Moses Montefiore Temple, in collaboration with the Islamic Center of Bloomington-Normal and Masjid Ibrahim Mosque.

Mike Matejka, a member of Not In Our Town since it began 20 years ago in Bloomington-Normal, said, “Every movement, group, religion has extremists in it. That doesn't mean that every follower of that movement or religion is an extremist.”

He said Wednesday's event is an opportunity to take a stand and let the local Islamic community know “we're not going to fall into the trap of hatefulness.”

In the event of inclement weather, the event will take place at Major Hall, First Christian Church, 401 W. Jefferson St., Bloomington.

But Becker is hopeful the event can stay outside.

“The idea of coming together in full view of the entire community is a good thing,” she said.

In addition to representatives from various faiths saying a few words, those gathered will also light candles, said Becker, adding, "Lighting candles is so much a part of many faith traditions.”

Matejka acknowledged that some people think the efforts of Not In Our Town, such as posting anti-racism signs, are superficial.

But Matejka said, “It's important that publicly we reinforce those stances, that we're a community that works hard not to just tolerate, but to celebrate our diversity.”

Want to Help Stop Bigotry? Help NIOT:B/N

We can all agree that Not In Our Town is an important initiative in making Bloomington-Normal a better place. But nothing of value is without cost. We work on a shoestring, spending money only when absolutely necessary. But we do spend money from time to time.

Our latest effort begins tomorrow: We're running our Season4Reason billboards for the month of December. The message for this winter's anti-bigotry/anti-bullying campaign is the cumulative benefits of diversity for the Twin Cities.

Please, as this season begins, consider supporting our appeal at https://www.crowdrise.com/NotInOurTownBloomingtonNormal/fundraiser/marcmiller2

Alas, our appeal is not tax deductible. We save far more money by not having that status (and its associated accounting and compliance costs).

NIOT:B/N 2.0: Tis a New Season

Roughly a year ago, Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal essentially "relaunched," moving after 18 years into a new phase of community engagement against bigotry, bullying, and other forces that threaten a safe and inclusive Twin Cities. Now, after a year of nationwide social turbulence, local concerns and controversies, and significant progress in addressing and helping remedy community issues, NIOT:B/N is prepped for a new "Season4Reason" and continued evolution as an organization.

During recent "next steps" meetings, NIOT:B/N's Dontae Latson pondered how today’s NIOT:B/N can best build on “this incredible movement and (its) rich history.” He hailed “what we did well” over the past year, including response to  local discrimination and demonstrations of bigotry and “a lot of strong adult involvement” in area schools, but agreed changes including a structure and physical foundation less solely dependent on mere volunteer effort are necessary to “keep it going without fizzling out.”

"We know how to picket, we know how to rally, we know how to boycott," Latson acknowledged, but given NIOT:B/N’s evolution and expanded and “all-inclusive” mission, as well as divisive comments regarding race, immigration, and other key sociopolitical issues in presidential debate alone, he agreed “a more sophisticated approach” is necessary for the group. He foresees a likely shift from traditional U.S. racism to more intense “classism” affecting diverse communities and greater cultural infighting potentially pitting documented workers against undocumented immigrants, straight individuals vs. LGBT and LGBT segments against each other, and African-Americans and other groups against those within their own communities.

That requires greater sensitivity and understanding of the nuances involved in cross-cultural/cross-sector/cross-demographic tensions and strategic movement from “a largely reactive movement” to a proactive force working with others throughout the community, Latson said. He questioned the “public appetite” for another more radical movement in the Twin Cities, though he acknowledged that often, “people are not seeing progress as success.”

“Sometimes, there are unrealistic expectations of an immediate victory,” he suggested.

A grassroots emphasis, where “you’re not beholden to anyone,” remains crucial, Latson said, but it also poses concerns about long-term resources and stable funding. Leadership and volunteer “sustainability” are major issues for NIOTBN, and “we can’t keep it going if we don’t have replacements” for the first and current generations of organizational leaders, he warned.

“We have to let go and allow these young people to lead,” he admonished. “People listen to kids.”

The evolution of NIOTBN also requires a tangible “place” – a geographical base of operations, possibility with at least one paid staff member – and firm “rules of engagement” for addressing local concerns.

Veteran member Kari Sandhaas stressed the need for NIOTBN to listen to all parties with respect and open-mindedness, cautioning that “passion can be a two-edged sword,” sometimes opening a “conduit” for the disadvantaged or oppressed to be heard but in some instances drowning out reasoned discussion or spurring premature action over “what might appear to be an injustice” before all details become clear.  In such cases, the organization must “ask questions first” before formulating a response,” she maintained.

Sandhaas cited efforts to urge local students faced with bullying or bigotry to “talk it out, not fight it out,” and the value of “listening sessions” like last spring’s local police/community dialogue.” Community leaders can better forge connections and address issues through “dialogue and inclusion,” involving “outside” groups at a cooperative “larger social level” and “using privilege to create privilege” among disenfranchised groups.

“We’re weaving a fabric,” Mary Aplington explained, bringing people of all cultures and needs together “in one room” and in a collaborative spirit. NIOTBN remains “an identity-safe place,” where individuals can raise issues without fear of unintended repercussions or loss of privacy, and “we would advocate for anyone whose rights are being stepped on,” Aplington said.

Raising NIOTBN’s community profile and broadcasting its essential mission is key to future success,” NIOT:B/N leader Phani Aytam said. “If you don’t tell others, they will define you for you,” he warned.

Celebrate Children at October 20 Vigil

Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal will focus on the plight of hungry children during its next prayer vigil October 20 at Bloomington's First Christian Church.

The hour-long "Celebrate Children's Prayer Vigil" begins at 6:30 p.m. The event also will include a canned goods collection competition among local K-12 students, with donations going to Bloomington's Clare House.

"We are planning to have our next Prayer Vigil focused around children within our community, state, and nation that are in need due to hunger," reported NIOT:B/N Faith and Outreach Committee Willie Holton Halbert.

"It is our desire to engage people of faith and our entire community in improving the lives of children and their families in our community, state and our nation."

The vigil is part of the 2015 Children's Defense Fund (CDF) National Observance of Children’s Sabbaths, “How Long Must I Cry for Help? Bending the Arc toward God's Vision of Justice for Children," October 16-18, which will focus on real solutions to significantly reduce child poverty. Thousands of churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and other faith communities across the country are holding community-wide interfaith special worship services, educational programs, and/or advocacy activities to engage people of faith.

See more at: www.childrensdefense.org/programs/faithbased/faith-based-action-programs-pages/childrens-sabbaths/National-Observance-of-Children-s-Sabbaths.html#sthash.6ThxYFAi.mWCiP5qO.dpuf

CDF’s recent report, Ending Child Poverty Now, outlines steps to "make a huge down payment on ending preventable, costly, and immoral child poverty in our wealthy nation." By investing an additional 2 percent of the federal budget into existing programs and policies that increase employment, make work pay, and ensure children’s basic needs are met, our nation could reduce child poverty by 60 percent and black child poverty by 72 percent, lifting 6.6 million children out of poverty immediately, according to CDF.

Notes In Our Town: NIOT:B/N Strengthening Community Partnerships

Roughly one busy year after community leaders and residents gathered at Illinois Wesleyan University's Ames Library to reinvigorate the 18-year-old Not In Our Town: Bloomington-Normal, NIOT:B/N returned to the library Saturday morning to forge new bonds in fighting local bigotry, bullying, and discrimination.

During a three-hour strategic planning meeting, Twin Cities officials, educators, and representatives of diverse Bloomington-Normal cultural communities hit the whiteboards to brainstorm ways to expand NIOT:B/N partnerships to help underserved constituencies and improve education and communications particularly among those who currently are not "engaged" out of a lack of awareness of local inequities or "discomfort" with discussion of race or culture.

As part of NIOT:B/N's strategy of "inoculation" -- the spread of social awareness on a person-to-person, group-to-group basis -- organization leader Phani Aytam appealed to Saturday's participants to reach out to additional community leaders about NIOT:B/N's mission.

"Is there one person you can talk to?" Aytam suggested.

NIOT:B/N's Art Taylor characterized the Twin Cities culturally as a richly diverse "community of a lot of dots," faced with the daunting challenge of "the connection of those dots." NIOT can serve as "the resource or brokerage for connecting the dots in our community" -- essentially a "one-stop shop" for specific groups seeking to reach the community at large.

Participants underlined the difficulties of bridging the Cities' cultural and economic divides. Meeting facilitator Gina Palmer acknowledged the tendency toward "self-segregation" among individual racial, religious, or social clusters, whether out of discomfort with or fear of offending or creating cultural misperceptions among other groups. Thus, cultural observances and festivals often become "preaching to the choir" rather than opportunities for multicultural education, according to Myra Gordon, who represented Bloomington's Moses Montefiore Temple. Gordon applauded the recent NIOT:B/N-sponsored vigil for the Charleston, S.C. church shooting victims, but suggested individual churches and groups could sponsor various general interest events as a way of introducing participants to other cultures.

Youth was a key focus both in raising early awareness but also as a way of reaching adults and, perhaps, changing the racial or cultural tone of the family dinner table. Unit 5 School District Superintendent Mark Daniel cited estimates that one hour per week of adult mentoring for a student significantly increases classroom participation and reduces disciplinary needs, while Bloomington Human Relations Commission member Rhonda Smith also emphasized the importance of student/student mentoring, arguing "their peers are who they are going to listen to."

Students are taking a hand in reducing school discrimination and bullying, through Not In Our School pledge efforts or the Bloomington-Normal Student Union organization studying possible strategies for leveling the playing field such as later school class times, standardized student testing, or dress codes that help set aside socioeconomic disparities.

McLean County YWCA head Dontae Latson recalled his first tour of Bloomington's west side, where he concluded the divide between east side and west side "wasn't just about race -- it was about class." Often, "capitalism itself is rooted in unfair practices," Latson said. NIOT:B/N's Mike Matejka, a former Bloomington alderman, noted that while the area has enjoyed a relatively low unemployment rate, minorities, ex-offenders, and others may see a far different perspective.

"You may be employed, but you may be stringing together a couple of jobs," Matejka maintained. Illinois Wesleyan University Center for Human Rights and Social Justice Director Irving Epstein held that "once you have a (criminal) record, you are screwed." 

Building community awareness of racial, socioeconomic, or cultural divides amid media downsizing, bustle, and bias is a key challenge, Saturday's participants argued. Cultural communities can help ensure awareness and transparency by securing "a fixed and permanent place for their voice" via weekly print columns or radio segments, Epstein said. Participants meanwhile stressed increased reliance social media and other alternative information sources for community insights.

NIOT:B/N Seeks Youth Input at Culture Fest

Not In Our Town: Bloomington-Normal plans to target youth and its input at the Twin Cities' annual Cultural Festival Saturday at Illinois State University Ballroom in the Bone Student Center. 

NIOT:B/N plans to provide an indoor mini-basketball game to lure young people to its booth at the festival, which features multicultural education, information, and performances.  In addition to asking visitors to sign an anti-bigotry/anti-bullying pledge card, NIOT:B/N will ask young people to write answers to these questions:

1) What do you like about Bloomington-Normal?

2) What should we change in Bloomington-Normal?

3) What do you feel so strongly about that you would stand up to change in Bloomington-Normal?

For information and a schedule of events, visit www.culturalfest.com.

New NIOT:B/N Committee to Work With Faith-Based Community

The church is at the center of many communities: It is a center for socialization and fellowship, a meeting place, and a safe harbor. As evidenced by the recent Charleston victims vigil at Bloomington's Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church and local churches that have made a special effort to welcome LGBT individuals, it can provide a connecting point for social reform and unity. Religious perceptions also can reinforce biases, prejudices, and even policies against other cultures, faiths, and lifestyle communities.

Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal's new Faith and Outreach Committee is designed to work with the Twin Cities faith-based community toward the goals and spirit of Not In Our Town while allowing an opportunity for all faiths to come together to share with one another while respecting the ideas of "a safe and inclusion community."

"We believe that by standing up against racism, discrimination, and bullying we establish a community standard that we should treat everyone with respect," Chairperson Willie Holton Halbert maintains. "We understand that we are all one nation with liberty and justice for all. These ideas have been shared since Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal started with our first Rally Against Racism July 13, 1996."

The committee tentatively will meet within the next two weeks. If you are interested in serving on or working with the committee, contact Halbert at dime54@aol.com.

Twin Citians Offer Prayers, Messages, $1,400 in Donations for Charleston's Victims

More than 250 Twin Citians -- black, white, members of a variety of local churches -- joined Wednesday night at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church for a powerful prayer vigil and candle-lighting for the nine victims of last week's Charleston church shootings.

Beyond individual prayers for the victims and their families, their community, and the Twin Cities, area residents at the event raised more than $1,400 to be donated to the families of the victims of 21-year-old shooter Dylann Roof.

"Hate was defeated by love tonight," concluded Willie Holton Halbert, a leader with vigil host Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal and vigil leader. "The Vision came alive! Just look at the rainbow of hope -- equality is possible!

"I had to share as I reflected and (Halbert's husband) Charles showed me the rainbow that stood over the church as we began the  prayer vigil. Let's keep the momentum going as people are wanting to be engage."

Mt. Pisgah Pastor Frank L. McSwain delivered the evening's central message (listen to audio below), arguing the need for community wide unity and understanding to ensure mankind's survival "as a race."

He called for examination of the hatred, attitudes, and environment that led Roof to murder the Charleston parishioners after spending an hour with them in Bible study, while the minister emphasized the ongoing human and societal pain caused by overt, institutional, or even casual bigotry and bullying.

"You don't have to shoot somebody to kill them," McSwain said, urging the group to "go beyond the limitations of your own humanity" and both resist the social "status quo" and "learn to love somebody." McSwain cited the abuse his family faced at white hands and his lighter-skinned mother's determination to "prove she was still with us."

"Should I have hate in my heart?" he posed. "You can't have hate in your heart with Jesus living there at the same time. . .When you establish a relationship with people, and you come to respect people for who they are, you'll come to find out they know a little bit more than you and they can help you more than you thought they could. How valuable is it for us to be together as a people? Together, we stand; divided, we fall."

Vigil participants left hand prints on a message paper roll and wrote a messages to the families in Charleston, and NIOT:B/N distributed anti-bigotry/anti-bullying pledge cards. Local youths with their parents lit candles and led prayers for each of the nine victims, and representatives of Bloomington's Second Presbyterian Church, First Christian Church and Moses Montefiore Temple offered devotions. In her closing benediction, First Christian Associate Minister Kelley Becker asked to "enable us, despite our circumstances, to live together, respecting, embracing, and loving one another."

Mt. Pisgah youth choir director Shirley Boykins led the group in the hymn We Need You to Survive before participants linked in a Unity Circle around the Mt. Pisgah sanctuary.

Meanwhile, vigil guest Bloomington Police Chief Brendan Heffner asked the community to join his department in fighting racism and potential violence to help ensure a Charleston-style tragedy never occurs in the Twin Cities. Heffner reiterated the BPD's commitment to "serve and give back to you in the community."

 "We have to be strong together," the chief stressed. "If you see something, say something. And work with us so that we can hopefully help a prevent a tragedy like that. It's going to take all of us working together.

"We may not always get along -- we may disagree on some things. But the bottom line is, we are all here together."

NIOT:BN Leaders Recognized For Life, Community Transformations

Twenty-six McLean County residents graduate from a program training them to be leaders, McLean County YWCA CEO D. Dontae Latson discuss his transformation from a 10-year-old boy with an arrest record, and Latson's Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal steering committee colleague, Bloomington Alderman Karen Schmidt was honored at Saturday's graduation ceremony for the Multicultural Leadership Program.

The "Celebrate Community"-themed event, at Illinois State University's Bone Student Center Brown Ballroom, featured Larson's keystone address and Schmidt's receiving MCLP's annual community service award.

MCLP began in 2009 with a goal of developing leaders who value diversity in decisionmaking at home, at work, and in the community.

Each year's participants are split into teams that assist a nonprofit group with a six-month project.

This year's nonprofits and projects included:

• Challenger Learning Center — enhance fundraising to support programs for area school children
•  
• Community Health Care Clinic — help with a dental care feasibility study and a five-year budget
•  
• Immanuel Health Center — increase name recognition
•  
• Meadows at Mercy Creek — recommend a staff development plan
•  
• Prairie Pride Coalition — redefine goals and outreach effort.

Latson grew up in a suburb of Washington, D.C., and watched the crack cocaine epidemic ramp up violence in his neighborhood.

In one year, he lost his brother and eight friends to violence.

Schmidt was recognized for her council service, local initiatives, and leadership. Below, listen to her acceptance speech.

NIOT:B/N Uncovers New Pledges at 'Hide and Seek'

Bullying and its prevention took center stage at Breaking Chains & Advancing Increase's  (BCAI) School of Arts' Saturday end-of-semester dinner show, "Hide and Seek."

Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal "Not In Our Town" anti-bigotry/anti-bullying pledges at the program, at Hallelujah Worship Center 1105 E Oakland Ave., Bloomington.

The presentation featured performances from students of BCAI, as well as surrounding artists designed to provide perspectives from all angles of bullying, according to BCAI's Angelique Racki "to significantly decrease misunderstandings and increase appreciation for one another."

NIOT's Schmidt MCLP Award Recipent

You can often find this year’s MCLP Community Service Award recipient pedaling a bicycle around low-income neighborhoods, laden with an overflowing book box.

That determined and personal effort exemplifies Karen Schmidt, who has helped initiate and maintain numerous community projects — including the Book Bike Program that brings free books into the homes of local residents. Karen gives her voice, time, leadership, and financial support to a myriad of causes — locally and on a state and national level.

Karen serves as alderman and Mayor Pro Tem for the City of Bloomington. Professionally, as Illinois Wesleyan University Librarian, Karen is active in state and national library associations, strengthening campus ties between technology and library services. She also connects IWU students to service learning opportunities that benefit the local community, especially the older Bloomington west side and downtown.

Karen is a board member of the Downtown Bloomington Association and a founding member of the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation’s Women to Women Giving Circle. She coordinated a series of grassroot workshops on “Making Neighborhoods Work” in the City of Bloomington, and helped found the West Bloomington Revitalization Project (WBRP). She was instrumental in bringing together the police department and city churches to form the Moving Forward initiative, helping young people improve their chances for success, and is a board member of the Not In Our Town B/N initiative. Karen and her husband, John Elterich, established the Elterich Family Scholarship within the Pratt Music Foundation, giving music opportunities to lower-income youth.

In her family, her neighborhood, and her ward, Karen has personally experienced the challenges and opportunities that confront diverse populations, and spoken out for social justice across all sections of our community. Karen has been a long time supporter of MCLP—as a mentor, speaker, and financial contributor. Her life’s work exemplifies the very definition of a servant leader.

McLean County YWCA President D. Dontae Larson,  who also serves on NIOT: B/N's steering committee with Schmidt, is keynote speaker for April 25's Class of 2015 Graduation Celebration, where Karen Schmidt will receive the MCLP Community Service Award.

Twin City Not In Our Town sponsors anti-hate initiative

The PANTAGRAPH/December 7

by Maria Nagle

mnagle@pantagraph.com

BLOOMINGTON — Against the backdrop of the deaths of an unarmed black man in Ferguson, Mo., and now New York City, and accompanying nationwide protests, Bloomington-Normal's "Not In Our Town" is sponsoring a new anti-hate initiative.

More than 100 political, community and educational leaders have been invited to show their support in fighting hatred and discrimination at an awareness-building event from 2 to 3 p.m. Tuesday at the YWCA McLean County, 1201 N. Hershey Road, Bloomington.

"Not In Our Town has always had a step in place for residents to show their support — the pledge card," said local NIOT member Marc Miller.

NIOT will unveil a newly-redesigned pledge card at a ceremonial signing of the first cards by community leaders to set an example for other residents, Miller said.

"Not In Our Town is a national movement that began right here in Bloomington," said Mayor Tari Renner. "I am honored to do whatever I can to help promote this cause so that people understand the best part of humanity and avoid our worst instincts."

A PBS "Not In Our Town" documentary, which explored how Billings, Mont., responded to a series of hate crimes, inspired the 1995 formation of an organization with the same name in Bloomington, making it the first city in the country to adopt the NIOT anti-hate, anti-discrimination program. 

Anyone who wants to come out and sign a pledge card Tuesday is welcome.

The latest campaign also includes placing NIOT's anti-hate, anti-discrimination message on electronic billboards, including one along Veterans Parkway at Lincoln Avenue, and posters on Connect Transit buses.

"One of our goals is to make this a safe, inclusive community," said Miller. "I don't see how anybody could say they don't agree with that principle."

While the event was planned seven to eight months ago, its goal to create a safe, inclusive community is all the more critical in light of what has happened in Ferguson, organizers said.

"We're blessed that nothing terrible has happened in Bloomington-Normal. Our goal is to make sure that is always true." Miller said. "We take pride in being proactive rather than reactive."

He also hopes the local anti-hate campaign will be a catalyst for community dialogue and spur renewed interest in the pioneering local movement whose profile has diminished in recent years.

"Inoculation against hate is getting people to talk about what's wrong and help make it right," said Miller. "When we don't talk about things it festers."

Bloomington Police Chief Brendan Heffner and Assistant Chief Gary Sutherland plan to attend the ceremonial signing event. 

"It's important for our residents to know that we are vested in communicating with the public so that we can all live in a safe community ... where we talk to each other and not at each other," Heffner said.

He and Sutherland attended a recent NIOT summit at the University of Illinois-Chicago to learn about developing civil rights issues and other related matters, Heffner said.

The organization is hoping to sponsor public discussions this spring between local law enforcement agencies and residents "to build mutual respect in that process," said Mike Matejka, who has been a Bloomington-Normal NIOT member from its inception.

"We can talk about what goes on in Ferguson. We can talk about what goes on with our police and what happens in our schools," said Matejka, Great Plains Laborers District Council's governmental affairs director. "And we can do it in a way that is respectful and hopefully builds understanding."

"I think the joy of Bloominton-Normal is we don't have events like Ferguson going on," Miller said. "It doesn't mean we don't have problems. It does mean we want to make this community a great place."