United Against Hate Week
The City of San Rafael commits to standing against all forms of hate in our communities. United Against Hate brings together Bay Area communities every year to reaffirm that commitment.
While hate constitutes a very broad range of words, feelings, and experiences, one specific action that you can take is to simply get involved in your community. The following local organizations host events, provide support and advocacy to marginalized communities, and work to educate and connect community members.
Black Americans
Library resource: Join us for our Virtual Book Club! This month we will be discussing All American Boys by Jason Reynolds & Brandon Kiely. This YA novel centers around police violence as it impacts Black youth–a population that is significantly more vulnerable to police violence.
Local organization: Showing Up For Racial Justice (SURJ) Marin – a local branch of a larger nationwide movement that seeks racial justice and accountability.
LGBTQ+ Communities
Library resource: Read All Boys Aren’t Blue, a memoir-manifesto by George M. Johnson. In this collection of essays, the author recounts their experiences as a queer Black teen and shares encouragement and joy alongside the very real issues faced by queer communities.
Local organization: The Spahr Center – Marin’s local, nonprofit community center that serves queer and HIV+ community members of all ages, with particular support for youth.
AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) Communities
Library resource: Watch Vincent Who? The Murder of a Chinese-American Man via Kanopy. This film explores the history of anti-Asian hate throughout American history, as well as this particular case’s impact on contemporary civil rights movements.
Local organization: Stop AAPI Hate – a list of actions you can take to support the AAPI community, including a tool to report a hate incident as well as links to organizations and resources.
Muslim Americans
Library resource: Read Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan. This middle-grade novel follows a Muslim American girl as she learns to tackle the joys and complexities of life with her Muslim family and American classmates.
Local organization: Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Bay Area – providing advocacy and legal services as well as youth support for the Muslim communities of the Bay Area.
Latinx Communities
Library resource: Explore Latinx Photography in the United States, a visual history by Elizabeth Ferrer. Part history of photography and part history of Latinx communities in the US, this collection ranges from narrative series to street photography.
Local organization: Canal Alliance – connecting San Rafael’s Latinx families to the resources they need, including legal advocacy, education, and COVID-19 support.
Jewish Americans
Library resource: Read (((Semitism))): Being Jewish in America in the Age of Trump by Johnathan Weisman. The author discusses not only his personal experiences with the ways that anti-Semitism has surfaced in recent years, but includes a history of contemporary anti-Semitism and fascism through online movements such as GamerGate and the emergence of the alt-right.
Local organization: Anti-Defamation League (ADL) San Francisco – local branch of a nationwide organization dedicated to tracking anti-Semitic hate as well as empowering local Jewish communities.
Indigenous Women
Library resource: Read If I Go Missing by Brianna Jonnie. This graphic novel was adapted from a letter that the author sent to the Winnipeg Chief of Police, detailing her fears as an Ojibwe teen in the face of an onslaught of murdered and missing Indigenous people in Canada.
Local organization: Sovereign Bodies Institute – an organization that collects data and publishes reports on violence against the Native communities of Northern California, particularly focused on gender and sexual violence to support the Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2-Spirit (MMIWG2S) movement.
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