By Macy Meinhardt, Voice & Viewpoint Staff Writer
Last week, various grantee groups, including ethnic media branches and nonprofits affiliated with the The California Department of Social Services ‘Stop The Hate’ initiative, convened at the Asian Business Association. The purpose of the meeting was to deliberate on the Stop the Hate (STH) program and explore collaborative efforts to leverage the media’s influence in raising awareness about the widespread issue of hate.
A critical prompt emphasized at the round table discussion was the need for more synergy between nonprofits and the media, as the two together create a powerful force when it comes to combating hate—non profits as the front line workers in providing on the ground services to victims of hate, and media as the entity that reports and brings awareness to the cases of hate.
“To combat hate, it takes everyone in all sectors and in all levels,” said Julian Do, with Ethnic Media Services, recognizing that hate is a universal issue that affects everyone from every race, ethnicity, and religion.
Media groups serving the Native American, Latino, Black, Asian and Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern communities in Southern California that came out included: Ethnic Media Services, Caribbean Pres, Al Enteshar, Immigrant Magazine, Myanmar Gazette, El Informador, Filipino Press, and The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint.
Grantees from the community-based organization sector serving San Diego and the Imperial Valley area included: North County LGBTQ Resources Center, TranscenDANCE, the Somali Family Services of San Diego, Karen Organization, Little Saigon Foundation, Filipino Migrant Center, Outside the Lens, Universidad Popular, Pacific Arts Movement, The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Catalyst of San Diego and Imperial Counties and CasaFamiliar.
About Stop The Hate Campaign
As you may have seen in our coverage the past several months, Voice & Viewpoint is a part of many media branches across the state dedicated to bringing awareness and resources to victims of hate and their families. At a glance this year, V&V’s coverage on this topic has included hate crimes by the numbers utilizing statistical data tracked by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, the underreported nature of hate crimes, case studies on hate within book banning, religious hate crimes and more.
Furthermore, the lunch meeting allowed members in both sectors to get to know one another and identify opportunities for collaboration to enhance and amplify the work of everyone engaged in the campaign.
“What is so inspiring about this room is that, this is what inclusive communication looks like,” said Sandy Close, founder of Ethnic Media Services.
Ethnic media partnerships and non-profit groups look forward to having more discussions and ways to collaborate in the new year.
Look for our Stop the Hate special issue published on Nov.30th by visiting our website at www.sdvoice.info.
This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
