October 1st marks the beginning of Hate Crimes Consciousness Month, a time for New Yorkers to mirror on the impression of hate and recommit to making a metropolis the place everybody feels protected. However consciousness, whereas taking part in a serious position in New York’s 21 p.c drop in hate crimes from one yr in the past, isn’t sufficient.
We’re additionally prioritizing motion.
It’s our job to ensure no New Yorker ever feels unsafe due to their ethnicity, tradition, faith, or id. Hate crimes will not be remoted incidents — they threaten the protection, dignity, and resilience of all New Yorkers — and tackling this downside requires a complete method that features consciousness, schooling, and open dialogue throughout all of our numerous communities.
Along with the excellent work our companions on the NYPD do to reply after a hate crime is reported, listed here are the community-driven options we’re main to assist additional drive our hate crime numbers down and cease them earlier than they happen:
Constructing bridges with the town’s main spiritual, ethnic, and cultural leaders.
Internet hosting multicultural conversations in New York’s most susceptible communities.
Organizing youth-centric programming to stop the following era from enduring related challenges.
Constructing bridges means bringing dozens of the town’s prime spiritual, cultural, and ethnic leaders — from all 5 boroughs — collectively for normal conferences to debate how phrases, actions, and even symbols can inflame tensions and stoke the flames of hatred. After we foster understanding between these leaders, they’re capable of share these classes with their communities — 1000’s of New Yorkers at a time.
It’s additionally important these leaders — resembling Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Asian, LGBTQ+, and extra — are seen collectively, publicly reinforcing the message that each one New Yorkers need to really feel protected.
Locally, this yr, we launched our “7 on 7” initiative, a seven-part group dialogue sequence designed to interact and uplift traditionally marginalized communities alongside the 7-train line, a cultural artery of the town. The objective is to foster deeper understanding and therapeutic by creating protected areas for folks to share their experiences and construct stronger connections.
“7 on 7” is a part of our broader efforts to assist — typically with grants — native occasions and initiatives that deliver totally different cultures collectively. The extra we come collectively to expertise each other’s humanity, the much less possible we’re to see others by means of the lens of hate.
We even have our “Breaking Bread, Building Bonds” program, the place we study our frequent bonds, share our cultures and traditions, and break down silos between our communities. We’re organizing greater than 20,000 meals and conversations with members of the various communities that make up our metropolis.
Our third main push is into youth programming. There is no such thing as a higher option to forestall future hate crimes than to interact with our future leaders right this moment.
We’ve launched and expanded a number of youth anti-hate applications, together with NYC Youth Transferring Ahead In opposition to Hate, the HeArtWork In opposition to Hate artwork contest, and our new Youth Ambassador Management program that engages NY city faculty college students in important conversations about recognizing hate and standing towards it. By empowering youth to grow to be knowledgeable and empathetic leaders, we’re serving to to construct a extra respectful and unified metropolis from the bottom up.
We wish to train acceptance and respect lengthy earlier than younger folks grow to be a perpetrator — or a sufferer — of a hate crime.
However the work of making a metropolis freed from hate can’t be performed by any single workplace or authorities company. It requires a collective effort, and each New Yorker has an important position to play.
Listed here are 3 ways you may assist us construct a metropolis freed from hate:
Your voice.
Your solidarity.
Your cellular phone.
Probably the most highly effective device we now have is our voice. Once you witness an act of prejudice or a hate crime, converse out. Don’t be a bystander. Your phrases and actions can disrupt a dangerous scenario and ship a robust message that hate has no house in our metropolis.
Past talking out, you may take a stand by supporting your neighbors and fostering respect in your each day life. Easy acts of kindness and solidarity might be transformative. Get to know folks from totally different backgrounds and search out conversations that broaden your perspective. These are the primary steps towards dismantling the partitions that divide us — and realizing our shared values of dignity and respect.
Lastly, you may assist by selecting up the telephone and reporting a hate crime for those who expertise one or witness one. We all know many victims are afraid or hesitant to name the police — typically on account of cultural norms or language limitations — however reporting is important.
Reporting hate crimes ensures survivors obtain the assist they deserve, helps maintain perpetrators accountable, and permits the town to reply in different methods as shortly as potential.
Each report sends a transparent message: hate has no place right here, and these acts won’t be tolerated.
This Hate Crimes Consciousness Month, let’s make a promise to ourselves and to our metropolis: let’s transfer past being merely conscious of hate, and, as a substitute, decide to taking motion towards it.
Each New Yorker has the ability to be a catalyst for change. By talking out, supporting our neighbors, and modeling respect, we will all assist construct a metropolis freed from hate.
