A Community Guide for Opposing Hate

The manual provides step by step actions for those who want to do something about hate, not only for the immediate aftermath of a hateful act, but for years to come to improve their community.

Introduction

The purpose of this manual is to provide those who want to “do something” about hate the something they can do, step by step, not only for the immediate aftermath of a hateful act, but for years to come to improve their community. This manual has been written by people who have spent decades combating hate and hate groups. If we’ve learned one lesson, it’s that organized haters are classic bullies. If they get away with bullying, they will only bully more. But we’ve learned another lesson too, that communities can push back against hatred. It’s hard work, but not daunting or overly complicated. This manual will show you how.

Our goal here is to provide different organizations in different regions—small rural coalitions, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in larger cities, and everything in between—the best practices to combat hate and hate groups. Some of the strategies are reactive, but the most important ones are proactive—organizing so when hate comes to town, it has a lesser chance of success.

What you’ll see in this manual are tried-and-true strategies for organizing against hate,

• from the nuts and bolts of how to build and sustain groups and coalitions,
• how to reach out to others for help, how to report crimes to the police,
• how to work with journalists and politicians, and
• how to research hate groups in your community.

The guide has detailed sections on messaging, traditional media and social media strategies, working with politicians and schools and academics, hate crimes, security, and research.

Contents

• Preface
• Organizing A Community Group
• Online Versus In-Person Organizing
• What To Do Now That Your Group Is Organized, Especially In Response To An Incident Of Hate
• Messaging: Responding To Messages Of Hate, Bigotry, And Exclusion Disinformation, Misinformation, And Dealing With Trolls
• Communication Strategies
• Social Media
• Political And Policy Work
• Other Steps To Mobilize Your Community: Building A Movement Against Hate
• The Importance Of Opposition Research
• Working With Academics
• Working With Schools
• Some Words About Speech
• Turning Free Speech Rights On Their Head
• Community Symbolic Rejection Of Hate
• How To Deal With, And Report, A Hate Crime Or Hate Incident
• Security
• Scenarios For Action
  • 1: A community leader or member receives multiple threats, both online and in person, over the span of a few days following the publishing of their name/organization by a right-wing media outlet
  • 2: A community group/center is targeted by a white nationalist group with flyers
  • 3: A nationally-recognized speaker with a long history of anti-Muslim animus has been invited by a church in your town to speak about the “dangers of Islam.”
  • 4: LGBTQ groups and a local library are targeted due to a drag queen story hour event that is set to take place at the library in the coming weeks
  • 5: Local law enforcement officers are cooperating or coordinating with paramilitary groups in response to civil rights demonstrations organized by groups such as Black Lives Matter or Showing Up for Racial Justice.
  • 6: A Black, Indigenous, and People of Color-, or BIPOC-, owned restaurant whose owners are outspoken social justice allies, is vandalized
  •  7: Local groups with agendas promoting discrimination or hate against members of our community (simply based on who they are or who they love) announce their intention to testify in opposition to a piece of progressive legislation at a city council or committee hearing at the state legislature
  • 8: After an incident involving an alleged undocumented immigrant, anti-immigrant groups and elected officials host a nativist event in your area
  • 9: Local houses of worship are targeted for their pro-immigrant and/or pro-refugee stances
  • 10: Elected officials are meeting with or coordinating with local anti-democratic groups in your area
  • 11: An elected official posts hateful speech on their personal social media accounts
  • 12: A religious institution in your community is vandalized in a likely hate incident
  • 13: A local Planned Parenthood clinic is dealing with a weekly far-right mobilization couched as a church sermon/protest outside of its building organized by an antichoice group that attracts other far-right groups
• Conclusion
• Resource Directory
• Acknowledgements

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A Community Guide for Opposing Hate

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