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Communities support effort to ‘Take on Hate’
People may have seen the T-shirts around town, black and emblazoned with the words Take on Hate.
The message is clear.
In an effort to stop hate and prejudice, especially against Muslims and Arab Americans, the Take on Hate grassroots campaign has been spreading the word that everyone should be treated the same.
The effort aims to achieve meaningful social change not only through public education, media and coalition building, but also by providing a platform for Arab Americans to speak up and inspire real policy change that challenges institutional discrimination and protects the rights of communities.
The campaign, launched in 2014, has been spreading, and most recently has been supported by the city of Dearborn, U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn), Wayne County, Detroit and Taylor.
During its April 2 meeting, the commission unanimously offered a resolution supporting the effort.
“The principles of Take On Hate apply universally to all groups,” Wayne County Commission Chairman Gary Woronchak said, “with the message being that we oppose discrimination and bias against all people that is based on their religion or ethnic heritage.”
Woronchak recalled living in Dearborn right after the terrorist attacks of Sept, 11, 2001 and said there was a lot of backlash toward Arab- and Muslim-Americans.
“Unfortunately, world events in recent months again have left our residents at risk again of being targeted by the ignorant and intolerant,” he said. “Worse, the growth of social media in the last decade has provided an outlet for such troublemakers to reach larger audiences with more immediacy and, often, with anonymity.”
Supporting the Campaign to Take On Hate, Woronchak added, will “send a message
that hate and bias will not be tolerated.”
Dearborn passed its resolution supporting the campaign on March 31.
Dearborn is known for its large Arab- and Muslim-American population and has endorsed the campaign and its objectives.
The Dearborn City Council, along with Dingell pledged their support of the campaign.
“I am proud to stand with the Dearborn City Council and the Campaign to TAKE ON HATE,” said Dingell. “We all want our community to be a place where everyone feels welcome and respected. You cannot fight intolerance with intolerance, and this resolution sends a powerful message that we are united in our efforts to counter stereotypes, overcome prejudice and end hate.”
Council President Susan Dabaja introduced the resolution to officially join the Campaign to Take On Hate, led by the National Network for Arab American Communities, a project of the Dearborn-based nonprofit ACCESS. The resolution passed unanimously.
“It’s not just about the Arab American or Muslim community. It’s about everyone here in this room,” Dabaja said during the meeting.
Take on Hate organizers say support of elected officials is essential to the campaign.
The effort aims to achieve meaningful social change through public education, media and coalition building, and by providing a platform for Arab Americans to speak up and inspire policy change that challenges institutional discrimination and protects the rights of our communities.
Source: www.pressandguide.com