Not In Our Town: Hate Based Violence

Research indicates that thousands of people every year are victims of hate crime. For every reported case of hate violence, there are countless unreported incidents of hate based violence. The hate crime phenomenon presents complex and agonizing problems to countless communities nationwide. The problem has become more visible as federal and state officials increasingly track hate violence.

Some assert that, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s annual hate crime report offers the most comprehensive national picture currently available on the magnitude of this pressing problem. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SCLC) also monitors hate groups and other extremists throughout the United States and expose their activities. Research indicates that “…there are 932 known hate groups operating across the country, including neo-Nazis, Klansmen, white nationalists, neo-Confederates, racist skinheads, and others.” (Southern Poverty Law Center) The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that there are 28 known hate groups in the state of Pennsylvania alone. According to the research done on this phenomenon by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of hate groups is growing. American communities have learned that failure to address hate-based crimes can cause an isolated incident to result in widespread tension.

Hate crimes are unique because they have a special emotional and physical impact that extends beyond the original victim. Bias crimes intimidate others in the victim’s community, causing them to feel isolated, vulnerable, and unprotected by the legal system. By making members of a specific group fearful, angry and suspicious, these crimes polarize cities and damage the very fabric of our society.

While hate violence makes headlines, the positive actions of people across our nation are creating a different story. These people include but are not limited to a movement called Not In Our Town. Like other groups battling hate based violence, Not In Our Town highlights communities working together to stop hate. Not In Our Town videos and broadcasts highlight and celebrate people who have developed creative anti-bias programs and responses. The stories chronicled by Not In Our Town have served to motivate many others to develop their own innovative initiatives which overpower the hateful actions and voices in their communities. Hate violence can be eradicated with an equal amount of conscience, mind, heart, and collective action.

The non-profit sector offers information, education, and activism against hate violence. The list below contains a few of the organizations that offer resources or help communities respond to hate activities. Many of the national organizations listed below have local chapters. A brief list of national organizations battling hate based violence include but is not limited to:

National Organizations
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Web: http://www.adc.org
Combats media stereotyping, defamation, and discrimination against Americans of Arab descent through legal action and education.

American Jewish Committee
Web: http://ajc.org
Published, What to Do When the Militia Comes to Town

Anti-Defamation League
Web: http://www.adl.org
Combats anti-semitism and racial supremacist ideology, published Hate Crimes Laws: A Comprehensive Guide.

Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund
Community education, legal counseling and advocacy on behalf of victims of anti-Asian violence.

Center For Democratic Renewal
Web: http://www.thecdr.org
Published When Hate Groups Come to Town: A Handbook of Effective Community Responses.

Center for New Community
Web: http://www.newcomm.org
Publishes special reports on anti-immigrant groups.

Choosing to Participate
Web: http://www.facing.org/
Traveling exhibition featuring events in time when individuals and communities made decisions affecting the course of history.

Connect America
Points of Light Foundation
Web: http://www.pointsoflight.org/sponsors/connectamerica.cfm
Sponsors national “Join Hands Day”

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Web: http://www.cair-net.org
Published, Law Enforcement Official’s Guide to the Muslim Community.

NAACP
Web: http://www.naacp.org
Combats racism and fights for civil rights.
National Council of Churches
Web: http://www.ncccusa.org
Organized nationally to rebuild burnt churches in 1996.

National Gay & Lesbian Task Force
Web: http://www.thetaskforce.org
Fights hate crime; monitors attacks on civil liberties.

The National Urban League
Web: http://www.nul.org
Increasing civil rights, educational and financial opportunities for African Americans through programs and research.

Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)
Web: http://www.pflag.org
Support for families of Gays and Lesbians with hundreds of local chapters.

Political Research Associates
Web: http://www.publiceye.org/
Think-tank monitoring the full spectrum of hate organizations.

Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Web: http://www.saldef.org/default.aspx?zone=misc.faq
Legal assistance and educational outreach for Sikh Americans. Civil rights advocacy.

Southern Poverty Law Center
Web: http://www.splcenter.org
Reports on hate crime and advances the legal rights of victims of injustice. Home of Klanwatch.)

Study Circles Resource Center
Web: http://www.studycircles.org
Helps communities and organizations begin small democratic, discussion groups that can make significant progress on difficult issues including race.)

100 Black Men of America
Web: http://www.100blackmen.org
Helps young African Americans to overcome financial and cultural obstacles through mentoring, anti-violence, education and economic development programs.

Source(s): Southern Poverty Law Center, FBI Hate Crimes Annual Report, 100 Black Men of America, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee,  Study Circles Resource Center, American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund,  Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Center For Democratic Renewal, Choosing to Participate, NAACP, National Urban League, Connect America, PFLAG, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

Photo credit Microsoft Clip Art

BREAKING NEWS: Troy Davis Denied Clemency

Georgia’s State Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected Troy Davis’ clemency petition. As a result, Troy Davis continues to face execution on Wednesday, September 21, 2011, at 7 pm EST. As aptly stated by Laura Moye, Director, Death Penalty Abolition Campaign, Amnesty International, the action of the Georgia’s State Board of Pardons and Paroles is astounding in the face of so much doubt in the case against Troy Davis. Last week, close to a million signatures were collected requesting clemency for Troy Davis and presented to the Georgia’s State Board of Pardons and Paroles.

In response to the adverse decision made by the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Parole, Amnesty International sent an action alert asking that the public request that: the Board reconsider its decision; and demand that Chatham County (Savannah) District Attorney Larry Chisolm seek a withdrawal of the death warrant and support clemency himself.

As you may recall, Troy Davis was convicted on the basis of witness testimony – seven of the nine original witnesses have since recanted or changed their testimony. In its action alert, Amnesty reminded recipients that, “[Troy Davis] has survived
three previous execution dates, because people like you kept the justice system
in check! Let Georgia authorities know you oppose the death penalty for Troy Davis!” With that said, Amnesty International provides on its website opportunities to send an email to the District Attorney and the Georgia State Board of Pardons
and Paroles as well as to sign the clemency petition which has been signed by more
than 800,000 to date.

The email to the District Attorney reads as follows:

“I am writing to urge you to seek a withdrawal of the death warrant against Troy
Davis.  He has been denied clemency by the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles despite the fact that significant doubts continue to plague his conviction.  Executions when there are still substantial doubts about guilt should never be permitted to proceed, and the responsibility rests with you to ensure that does not happen in this case.

It would significantly undermine the credibility of the Georgia system of justice if an execution were carried out under such a persistent cloud of doubts about guilt. It would show a callous disregard for the very real possibility of putting an innocent person to death, and public faith Georgia’s commitment to a fair justice system would be shattered.

You have it in your power to prevent this affront to justice from happening. I urge
you to call for a withdrawal of Troy Davis’ death warrant without delay.”

You can sign the email online or write a personal letter to the district attorney. Contact Information Chatham County’s District Attorney’s Office: Phone/Fax: Telephone: 912-652-7308 or Fax: 912-652-7328. For further information and to take action please visit Amnesty website at http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org.

Source: Amnesty International. NAACP.

Photo credit: Microsoft Clip Art

The Eyes of the World are on Georgia’s Parole Board

As many death row opponents have aptly stated, the eyes of the world are on
Georgia’s Parole Board’s clemency hearing for Troy Anthony Davis, a death row
inmate. Despite the absence of any physical evidence linking him to the crime, Troy
Davis was found guilty in a court of law for the shooting and killing Officer Mark
Allen MacPhail in Savannah, Georgia, and sentenced to death. The Troy Davis
case has been appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States
and has drawn both national and international attention due to lack of evidence
supporting the state’s case.  The Parole Board is the sole authority in
Georgia with the authority to grant clemency to inmates. The Board may commute
a death sentence to life without parole, to life or deny clemency.

According to a press release, on September 7, 2011, the State Board of Pardons and Paroles invited representatives for condemned inmate Troy Anthony Davis to meet with the Board on Monday, September 19, 2011, at 9:00 a.m., to advocate for clemency for him. Davis is scheduled to die by lethal injection September 21, 2011, at 7 p.m., at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson, Georgia. Davis’ defense counsel are timidly optimistic.The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, which has the power to change death sentences but rarely does, did not issue an immediate decision in this case. It was reported that, “…a spokesman for the panel said they would not decide before Tuesday.”

Conservatives, liberals, as well as opponents and proponents of the death penalty have asked the Georgia Parole Board to grant Troy Davis clemency. According to Georgian’s for an Alternative to the Death Penalty, over hundred thousand (800,000) people signed a petition requesting that the Georgia Parole Board grant clemency to Troy Case. The list of persons requesting clemency for Troy Davis includes but is not limited to: Former President Jimmy Carter, The Pope, Nobel Peace Prize-winner, Desmund Tutu as well as a host of conservatives and death row proponents such as former Congressman Bob Barr. The Former FBI Director also has called for clemency for Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis.

Last week, “…In a high-profile plea published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
William S. Sessions, former federal district judge and FBI director under
presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, writes that
Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis, who is scheduled to be executed [September
21, 2011] , should be granted clemency. Sessions notes there is significant
doubt about Davis’ guilt, as seven of the nine witnesses who testified
against him have recanted and the “case continues to be permeated by doubt,”
with there being no “physical or scientific evidence” available to tie Davis to
the killing of a Savannah police officer. The Georgia State Board of Pardons
and Paroles is the one body left that could issue a stay of execution or
executive clemency for Davis.”

Again, a spokesman for the Georgia’s Parole Board said they would not decide before
Tuesday. For further information, visit the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles’ website.

Sources: “Board weighs clemency for Georgia death row inmate”. Reuters, Matthew Bigg, Monday, September 19, 2011. http://www.dcor.state.ga.us.www.thinkprogress.org.
www.forbes.com. Creative Loaffing. Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Photo credit: Microsoft Clip Art