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from the WE DO THE WORK TV series

A 27-minute documentary appropriate for

anyone concerned with reducing prejudice

and inspiring community involvement

A Guide to PromoteThoughtful

Viewingand Analysis

in the Classroom

NOT INOUR TOWN

W A T C H I N G

T O G E T H E R

NOT INOUR TOWN

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Thisguide is for viewing and discussing Not In Our Town andincludes a variety ofactivities designedto fit easily intomany differentclasses. This 27-minute videoresource supportslearning in thesecurriculum areas:

History/SocialStudies• Civic Values: Rights and

Responsibilities• The Bill of Rights• Strengths of American

Democracy• The American Civil

Rights Movement• World War II/The

Holocaust• Immigration to America:

Immigrants’ Experiences• Labor Unions in

Contemporary Society

Literature/English• Stories of Courage• Overcoming Challenges• Responses to Racism and

Prejudice

In addition, this guideoffers several opportuni-ties to address thefollowing standards:

National CivicsStandards Students should be able toevaluate, take, and defendpositions on:• what the fundamental

values and principles ofAmerican political life areand their importance tothe maintenance of con-stitutional democracy;

• issues in which funda-mental values andprinciples may be inconflict;

• issues concerning thedisparities betweenAmerican ideals andrealities;

• the importance toAmerican constitutionaldemocracy of disposi-tions that foster respectfor individual worth andhuman dignity.

National Standards forU.S. HistoryStudents should:• compare and contrast

differing sets of ideas,personalities, behaviors,and institutions;

• understand the strugglefor racial and genderequality and for the ex-tension of civil liberties;

• understand major socialand economic develop-ments in contemporaryAmerica;

• formulate a position orcourse of action on anissue.

The activities providestudents with opportu-nities to strengthen thefollowing skills:

Analytical• Critical Thinking

• Compare/Contrast• Recognizing Bias• Drawing Conclusions

• Decision-making

Interpersonal• Tolerance• Respecting Differences of

Opinion• Teamwork• Empathizing

Study Skills• Research

Writing• Personal Narrative• Analytical Review• Persuasive Essay

Speaking/Listening• Public Speaking• Debating Issues• Listening Critically

F I T T I N G I N T O Y O U R C U R R I C U L U M

NOT IN OUR TOWNTeacher’s Viewing Guide©1995 California Working Group, Inc.

Copies of the video NOT IN OUR TOWN and thisviewing guide are available from California Working Group5867 Ocean View Drive • Oakland, CA 94618Phone 510-547-8484 Fax 510-547-8844e mail: [email protected].

Closed caption version available.

2NOT IN OUR TOWN VIEWING GUIDE

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American Jewish Congress(212) 879-4500

Anti-Defamation League/World of Difference(212) 490-2525

Center for Democratic Renewal(404) 221-0025

Facing History and Ourselves(617) 232-1595

Labor Heritage Foundation(202) 842-7880

National Congress of AmericanIndians(202) 466-7767

The National Association for theAdvancement of Colored People(NAACP) 1-800-NAACP-55

People for the American WaySTAR Program (Students Talk About Race)(202) 467-4999

The Southern Poverty Law Center(SPLC)(334) 264-0286

We would like to thank the following for their generous financialsupport of:

THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM PROJECTClaremont Marketing Services, Delta Dental, Harburg Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. V. Honig, Jewish Community Endowment Fund

VIDEO PRODUCTIONJoseph Anthony Beirne Foundation, Corporation for Public Broadcasting,Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation, Righteous Persons Foundation/Steven Spielberg

NOT IN OUR TOWN WEEK CAMPAIGNSchumann Foundation/Institute for Alternative Journalism,Charles A Revson Foundation, Shefa Fund

B I B L I O G R A P H Y

R E S O U R C E S F U N D E R S


A seven-page extended bibliogra-phy is available upon request.

SELECTEDBIBLIOGRAPHYFOR TEACHERS:An excellent place for teachers tobegin is Hazel Rochman’s AgainstBorders: Promoting Books for aMulticultural World. AmericanLibrary Association (1993). She gives a short review of eachbook, and appropriate age range.

• When Hate Groups Come toTown: A Handbook of EffectiveCommunity Responses. Center for Democratic Renewal.

• Faces of the Enemy, by SamKeen. For teaching about bias, andhow media images shape ourperceptions.

BIBLIOGRAPHYFOR STUDENTS:

JEWISHNonfiction

Anne Frank: The Diary of ayoung girl, by Anne Frank. Gr. 5-12.

Friedrich, by Hans Richter. Howtwo families, one Jewish, the othergentile, were affected by theHolocaust. Gr. 6-9.

FictionChernowitz, by Fran Arrick.

Anti-Semitism, teens, anger, andrevenge. Gr. 6-10.

The Drummer of Jerico, byCarolyn Meger. Jewish and gentileteens form a united front. Gr. 6-12.

Gentleman’s Agreement, byLaura Hobson. Non-Jewishjournalist discovers anti-Semitism.Gr. 7-12.

NATIVE AMERICANSNonfiction

Bury My Heart at WoundedKnee: An Indian History of theAmerican West, by Dee Brown.Classic history, well told. Gr. 9-12.

Rising Voices: Writings of YoungNative Americans, Ed. by ArleneHirschfelder and Beverly Singer.Gr. 5-8.

FictionA Yellow Raft in Blue Water, by

Michael Dorris. Three generationsof Native American women inMontana. Gr. 9-12.

Julie of the Wolves, by JulieCraighead George. Newbery Awardwinner about a 13-year-old Eskimogirl. Gr. 6-10.

AFRICAN-AMERICANSNonfiction

Freedom’s Children, by EllenLevine. Oral histories of the civilrights movement. Gr. 6-12.

Eyes on the Prize: America’s CivilRights Years, 1954-1965, by JuanWilliams. Gr. 9-12. Companion toPBS series.

Black Boy, by Richard Wright.Gr. 7-12.

Roots, by Alex Haley. Gr. 8-12.

FictionRoll of Thunder, Hear My Cry,

by Mildred Taylor. Newbery Awardwinner about a family that standsagainst the Klan. Gr. 6-12.

ASIAN-AMERICANSNonfiction

New Kids on the Block: OralHistories of Immigrant Teens, byJanet Bode. Gr. 6-10.

The Invisible Thread, by YoshikoUchida. Growing up in Berkeley, CA.Gr. 6-9.

FictionThe Best Bad Thing, and Journey

to Topaz, by Yoshiko Uchida.About internment camps in theU.S. during WWII. Gr. 5-8.

LATINOSNonfiction

Latinos: A Biography of a People,by Earl Shorris. Gr. 9-12.

FictionHow the Garcia Girls Lost Their

Accents, by Julia Alvarez. Fifteenstories of a family. Gr. 9-12.

The House on Mango Street, bySandra Cisneros. Coming of age inChicago, Gr. 8-12.

LABOR UNIONSNonfiction

Who Built America, Vol. II, byHerber G. Gutman. Workingpeople and the nation’s economy,politics, culture and society.Comprehensive, with video support.Gr. 9-12.

Rivethead: Tales from the AssemblyLine, by Ben Hamper. An ironicaccount of an auto worker’s life.Contains adult language. Gr. 11-12.

The following national organizations offer teaching materials, speakersbureaus, and other useful information on specialized subjects. Also contactthe local chapter of each group:

California Working Group:Producers of We Do The Work,a public television series.Contemporary and historicalvideos about the workplace.(510) 547-8484

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The April, 1995 bombingof the Federal Building inOklahoma City broughtsharply into our nationalconsciousness the potentialfor violence among hate-driven groups. We learned,to the surprise of many ofus, that militias and otherheavily-armed extremistgroups exist throughoutthe country and have beenbuilding their member-ships substantially inrecent years.

The Northwest has been afocal point for whitesupremacist activity duringthe past decade. In 1986the Aryan Nations organi-zation declared its inten-tion to make the region an“Aryan National State,” inwhich non-white races andfollowers of non-Christianreligions would be forbid-den from owning property,voting, conducting busi-ness, bearing arms, andholding government office.Since then, organizers havebeen working hard torecruit new membersthere. Nearly 200 hatecrimes and incidents ofracial harassment havebeen recorded in theNorthwest since 1990.

The extreme platform ofthe Aryan Nations is notuniversally supported bythe many disparate groupsof the white supremacymovement. Each separategroup, such as the Ku KluxKlan, the White AryanResistance (WAR), and themore loosely organizedracist skinhead movement,centers its activism arounda different issue. Whatthese groups share isbigotry against people ofcolor, and many havebecome increasinglyviolent since the mid-1980s. It is estimated that22,000 Americans aremembers of whitesupremacy organizations;many belong to more thanone group.

The attacks in Billingsdescribed in Not In OurTown occurred in thecontext of this escalatingactivity. It is important torealize that what Billingsresidents experienced werenot isolated, insignificantincidents but part of alarger effort to terrorizeminorities and advance awhite supremacist agendain the region.

B A C K G R O U N D I N F O R M A T I O N

Graffiti overlooking the town of Billings, Montana

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Background on the LaborMovement as a Force for SocialChange in the United StatesThe industrial union organizingdrive of the 1930s was amovement for democracy. Talkto the mass production workerswho took part in it, and theywill tell you that what theywanted more than anything elsewas dignity. They wantedfreedom from petty harassmentof a foreman who could send aman home at will and rewardthose who curried his favor withsteady work, preferred jobs, andpromotion. They wanted“unions of their own choosing”which could stand up to thepower of corporate employersand bargain on equal terms.Like democratic movements inAmerica before and since, theybelieved that the human right toa job should take precedenceover the property right tomanage an enterprise as theemployer sees fit.

—Alice and Staughton Lynd,from Rank and File: Personal

Histories by Working ClassOrganizers, 1973

Background on the Effects ofthe Holocaust on EuropeanJews and Other TargetedGroupsThe Holocaust was the system-atic, bureaucratic annihilationof six million Jews by the Naziregime and their collaboratorsas a central act of state duringWorld War II... The Nazisbelieved that Germans were“racially superior” and thatthere was a struggle for survivalbetween them and “inferiorraces.” Jews, Roma (Gypsies),and the handicapped were seenas a serious biological threat tothe purity of the “German(Aryan) Race” and thereforehad to be “exterminated.” TheNazis blamed the Jews forGermany’s defeat in World WarI, for its economic problemsand for the spread of Commu-nist parties throughout Europe.Slavic peoples (Poles, Russians,and others) were also consid-ered “inferior” and destined toserve as slave labor for theirGerman masters. Communists,Socialists, Jehovah’s Witnesses,homosexuals, and Free Masonswere persecuted, imprisoned,and often killed on political andbehavioral (rather than racial)grounds. Sometimes thedistinction was not very clear...The Germans carried out theirsystematic murderous activitieswith the active help of localcollaborators in many countriesand the acquiescence orindifference of millions ofbystanders.

— The Education Departmentof the United States Holocaust

Memorial Museum

Background on the Attitudesand Images towards NativeAmerican Peoples in theUnited StatesThe American myths aboutwho the Apaches are, and whoGeronimo was, involve suchwell-worn clichés that it isdifficult to re-address thereality. Schoolboys and militarymen are taught to yell “Geronimo!” when they jumpinto swimming pool or intobattle. So at least we can beginby asking what that is. Whydon’t those children yell someother name? They do notadmire Geronimo or theApaches. In the American myth,Apaches are a symbol ofinscrutable cruelty. Is Geronimo’s name invokedbecause he evokes Americanfear—a fear that has been“conquered”? If so, then thefearsome “object” has obviouslynot been “conquered” at all....Today, Geronimo’s family, hisdescendants, are leaders of anApache reservation that is stillhard pressed from all sides,forced to expend resources andenergy simply to fight morecolonial incursions. We mustrecognize that Geronimo andhis people are not defeated, andthat these days are still part ofan urgent and desperatesituation that demands activesolidarity.

—“Geronimo”essay by Jimmie Durham,

from Partial Recall,edited by Lucy R. Lippard, 1992

Background on the Role of theBlack Church in the CivilRights MovementI remember in Birmingham,Alabama, when we were in thatmajestic struggle there wewould move out of the 16thStreet Baptist Church day afterday; by the hundreds we wouldmove out. And [Public SafetyCommissioner] Bull Connorwould tell them to send thedogs forth and they did come;but we just went before the dogssinging,“Ain’t gonna let nobodyturn me round.” Bull Connornext would say,“Turn the firehoses on.” And as I said to youthe other night, Bull Connordidn’t know history. He knew akind of physics that somehowdidn’t relate to the transphysicsthat we knew about. And thatwas the fact that there was acertain kind of fire that nowater could put out. And wewent before the fire hoses; wehad known water. If we wereBaptist or some other denomi-nation, we had been immersed.If we were Methodist, and someothers, we had been sprinkled,but we knew water... Thatcouldn’t stop us... And therewas a power there which BullConnor couldn’t adjust to...

— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,“I See the Promised Land”

Speech, April 3, 1968

R E S E A R C H P R O J E C T S


The following topics are especially appropriate for research projects. Theseexcerpts can be used to give students some initial familiarity with each topic:

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Use theseactivitiesto ensure thatstudents havesufficient back-ground knowledgeto understand whatthey will see in thevideo, and to makesure that they arefamiliar with theconcepts and termsthey will encounter.

Key TermsWord WebLevel: BASICSkill: Critical Thinking

Write the word prejudice on thechalkboard and askstudents to brain-storm relatedwords. Write allof these terms onthe board anddraw connec-tions between

them. Have studentssuggest a meaning for eachword and use a dictionaryto confirm or clarifymeanings. Guide studentsto develop their owndefinition of the term hategroup and reflect on theconcept of hatred of agroup. Then ask the classto name some hate groupsand historical examples ofthe institutionalization ofhate, such as the forced re-location of Native Ameri-cans onto reservations,theinternment of JapaneseAmericans during WWII,Jim Crow laws, lynchings,and the Holocaust.

Introduce theSetting

Level:BASICSkills:Research,Compare/Contrast

Invite students to sharewhat they know about theeconomic activities, culture,history, and demographicsof Billings, Montana.Provide an encyclopedia,atlas, and almanac forreference. Next, havestudents compare Billings,a rural town, to their owncommunity or a largeurban area, using thechalkboard to develop twolists. Ask students toconsider the ways in whichquality of life might differin each place for variousgroups of people, includingminorities. Be sure toaddress the isolation thatminorities can experiencein communities where theymake up a very small partof the population.

Quick-WriteLevel: BASICSkill: Personal Narrative

Ask students to write abrief passage describingany experiences withintolerance. They willrevisit their work afterviewing the video andwrite another passage onwhat they have learned andhow their feelings mighthave changed.

Groups andInstitutions ScavengerHuntLevel:CHALLENGINGSkills: Research, PublicSpeaking, Teamwork

Use this activity to helpstudents understand thefunction of the communityinstitutions portrayed inthe video, including unions,religious groups, news-papers, law enforcementagencies, and communitygroups (such as humanrights coalitions).

• Invite students to speculate briefly aboutwhat each of these groups does.

• Divide the class into smallgroups and assign each of them one or twocommunity groups orinstitutions to researchovernight. Students cantalk with adults withinthe school, their families,or the community togather information.

• Have each group reportits findings before view-ing the video.

• Optional Extension: Invitea member of one of thesegroups, such as a unionmember or police officer,to speak to the class aboutwhat the group does.

(NOTE: To use this activityin conjunction withviewing the video, seeOption Three on page 7).

B E F O R E V I E W I N G T H E V I D E O


prejudice

white supremacy

hate group

skinhead

anti-Semitism

racism

Aryan homeland

hate crime

Ku Klux Klan

Key Terms to Cover

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CommunityStructures DiscussionLevel: AVERAGESkill: Critical Thinking

Help students consider theactions of the communitygroups presented in thevideo, including unions,religious groups, newspa-pers, law enforcementagencies, and communitygroups (such as humanrights coalitions). Askthem to consider thefollowing questions:

• Were the responses eachgroup made to the hatecrimes appropriate totheir functions in thecommunity? What might each havedone differently?

• Which institutions werenot discussed in thevideo? What could/should theyhave done?

• Which groups in yourown community wouldyou expect to lead acollective response in asimilar situation?

• Where would you turnfor help in confrontingan issue of intolerance?

A Personal PerspectiveLevel: AVERAGESkills: Personal Narrative,Compare/Contrast,Drawing Conclusions

Have students revisit thequick-write assignmentsthey completed beforewatching the video. Askthem to write a more in-depth piece about whatthey learned. If their viewshave changed, have themdescribe how.

Divide the class intogroups of four or fivestudents. Write the follow-ing questions on the boardand have each studentwrite a response to adifferent question:

• What is an example of asmall courageous act?

• Which piece of the videoelicited the strongestresponse from you?

• What part of the videodid you have trouble un-derstanding or believing?

• With whom did youidentify most strongly inthe video?

• What incidents ofscapegoating have youwitnessed in your family,school, or community?

• How would your neigh-borhood respond ifsomeone threw a brickthrough the window of aneighborhood resident’shome?

Group the responses byquestion and post them.Your class might wish tocreate an anthology ofthese and other writingsthey do in connection withthis program, and publishit as a small magazine.

A F T E R V I E W I N G T H E V I D E O


Round Robin Writing/Class LogLevel: BASICSkills: Critical Thinking, Analytical Review

Dawn Fast Horse’s home defaced by racist graffiti

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Talk about why silence can be construed as acceptance, and askstudents what the consequences of silence might be. Discussthe role that silence and acceptance by community membersplayed in the Holocaust. (See the note on page 13).Discuss students’ perception of law enforcement in their owncommunity. Ask: Would the police in your community react to asimilar situation in the same way the police in Billings did?

Ask students why they think the trade union became involvedin these situations. Ask students what binds communitiestogether. Ask: What is the role of unions in the workplace, in thelarge community? (See the note on page 13).

Invite students to consider the painter’s statement that thememories of the children whose home was vandalized havebeen scarred, and make predictions about the ways these“scars” might be manifested.

S T O P P I N G P O I N T S /

“There’s all this subtle racism that is just constant, day in, day out.”“It was the right thing to do, but I feel we’re also

expected to do things like this.”

“What do you do with those children’s memories? They’re scarred.”

“If they want me to be silent,then that’s just not going to happen.”

Discuss why Brian Schnitzer felt he had to “confess” to beingJewish. Ask: What does a community that honors diversity looklike? How can minorities feel safe in democracies, where “themajority rules”? Ask students to give some examples of the day-to-day, institutionalized prejudice Janice Hudetz talked about.You might introduce ideas like low expectations, barriers toemployment and housing, and fear of strangers.

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Ask students to discuss what societal forces might make somepeople racist and others tolerant and compassionate. ConsiderClinton Sipes’s statement that he would not have become aviolent racist if he had been taught more about people.Ask: What do people need to learn?


Discuss the incidents of harassment in the church and thesanctity of religious observances. Ask: What made the show offorce there so threatening? Why do some people find this kind ofhate activity particularly disturbing? How could attendingservices make such a difference?

“By late December, nearly 10,000 people in Billings,Montana had Menorahs in their windows.”

Discuss the display of menorahs and Gary Svee’s comment thatthe question of what each of us would have done in NaziGermany should haunt all of us. Ask: Would you have placed aMenorah in your window? In what other way might you choose torespond to hate crimes?

D I S C U S S I O N P R O M P T S

“Please make this front page news because I wantpeople to understand what it’s like to be Jewish.”“All I can do is tell people of my experience,

and, hopefully, people will listen.”

“And they did rally ‘round and let them know,‘Hey, if you bite one, you bite us all,’ and that

was a very good feeling we had.”

Discuss Brian Schnitzer’s reaction to the brick being thrownthrough his son’s window. Help students come to an under-standing of the range of feelings that can be evoked by hatecrimes. Consider the different ways of “fighting.” Ask: Was theSchnitzer family’s decision to “fight” by enlisting communitysupport more effective than violent retaliation might have been?What is an appropriate response?

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UnderstandingDiversity: SymbologyLevel: AVERAGESkills: Teamwork,Recognizing Bias,Drawing Conclusions,Analytical Review

Ask students to considersymbols seen in the video:a swastika, a cross, amenorah, an Americanflag. Encourage students toanswer these questions:

• What do the symbolsmean to those whobelieve in them? What dothey mean to those whodo not believe in them?

• How are the symbolsused by those whobelieve in them? How dothey promote inclusion?Exclusion?

• How can symbolssometimes be used tofoster divisiveness?

Next, ask students to applythe same questions toseveral symbols that aremore immediate to theirexperience. Include schooldress codes, gang symbols,haircuts, tattoos, andsymbols of their favoritemusic groups. Helpstudents understand thepotential for misunder-standing that arises whendifferences in perspectiveexist. Extend to writingactivity: Ask students tocooperatively create aguide to today’s symbols.

UnderstandingDiversity: Discussion andRole PlayLevel: AVERAGESkills: Compare/Contrast,Empathizing, DrawingConclusions, Tolerance

Invite students to analyzeand respond to the state-ments of Clinton Sipes, theformer white supremacistwho renounced his pastactivities and now worksfor positive solutions toracism. Give students theoption of role-playing Sipesin both of his incarnationsand considering whatforces would drive anindividual toward eachpoint of view. Encouragestudents to think aboutwhat would be required toprompt an individual tomake the kind of radicalchange that Sipes made.

Town MeetingLevel: AVERAGESkills: Decision-making,Teamwork, Debating Issues,Respecting Differences of Opinion,

Have students play theseroles: town council mem-bers, mayor, law enforce-ment officers, newspapereditor, representatives ofreligious groups and othercommunity institutions,business people, victims ofhate crimes, and ordinarycitizens. In these roles,have them discuss theBillings incidents as if theywere happening in yourown town. Have studentswork together to decide ona course of action.

A F T E R V I E W I N G T H E V I D E O


Theseactivitieswill help yourstudents analyze theissues presented in thefilm. Keep in mindthe need to balancethese two essentialtasks: creating a safe environment in whichthe issues can bediscussed, andchallenging studentsto think critically andhonestly about theirreactions to theseissues.

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V I E W I N G T H E V I D E O


To help students focus on the main ideas, have themconsider these questions while viewing:

• What are the beliefs and goals of the hate groups?

• Who are the targets of the hate groups?

• How did the hate groups first make their presenceknown to their targets and the larger community?What kinds of attacks did they make?

• Which institutions and community groups responded? What did they do?

• What made these people respond while others didnot?

• Which responses seem more effective than others,and why?

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Option One Have students watch thevideo without interruption, taking noteson the key concepts. Discuss the questionspresented on pages 7-9 after viewing.

Option Two Stop the video at the keypoints outlined on pages 7-9. Use the discussion prompts to help studentsunderstand key issues as they view thevideo. Each stopping point is identified bythe time at which it occurs, a quote, and astill shot from the video. (Note that thetimes are approximate)

Option Three This option utilizes theGroups and Institutions Scavenger Hunton page 6. Rather than reporting theirfindings before viewing the program, askthe students responsible for researchingeach term to stop the video when theirtopic is introduced and explain what theydiscovered about it. Discuss the issues onpages 7-9 after viewing.

Ask students to compare Billings to their own community.Invite them to think about what attributes they would lookfor in a community they would choose to live in as adults.

“It’s a beautiful place to grow up and it’s a beautiful place to raise your children.”

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Discuss the meanings of the terms Aryan Nation, Aryanhomeland, white supremacist, Ku Klux Klan youth group, andskinhead. Ask students to consider the echoes of historyevoked by terms like Aryan and homeland.

“We, by whatever means, will purify the Northwest and create an Aryan homeland…”

S T O P P I N G P O I N T S / D I S C U S S I O N P R O M P T S

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Inspiring WordsLevel: AVERAGESkill: Persuasive Essay

Ask students to write anessay in response to one ofthe quotations on page 14.

ScapegoatingLevel: AVERAGESkills: Recognizing Bias,Analytical Review

Guide students to developa definition of scapegoat-ing. Then divide the classinto three groups and askeach group to research andwrite a report on anexample of scapegoating atone of each of these levels:school, community, andnation.

Students asTeachersLevel:CHALLENGINGSkills: Research, PublicSpeaking, Debating Issues

Help upper level studentsdevelop a short presenta-tion to be used with thevideo in the lower gradelevels of your school, oranother nearby school.Supervise students as theyintroduce the video andguide younger students inunderstanding it throughdiscussion and activities.

Free Speech vs.Hate SpeechLevel: AVERAGESkills: Critical Thinking,Persuasive Essay, RespectingDifferences of Opinion,Tolerance

Have students consider theFirst Amendment issuesrelevant to hate crimes.Ask them to address thefollowing questionsthrough discussion orwriting:

• Where should the line bedrawn between speechthat is merely offensiveand speech that consti-tutes a crime against itstargets?

• Should the First Amend-ment be changed to giveoppressed groups greaterprotection from harmcaused by hate speech?Should it be changed toallow more “expression”?

• Are rock or rap lyrics thatdenigrate women orglorify killing cops harm-ful? How about provoca-tive debates on talkshows? Should theselyrics or shows bebanned? When and howdoes speech become dan-gerous? When, if ever,should it be restricted?

• What are appropriateresponses to variouskinds of offensivespeech?


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Standing TogetherLevel: AVERAGESkills: Critical Thinking,Analytical Review

Ask students to considerwhat the difference isbetween a town that doesand a town that doesn’tstand up for its memberswho are the victims ofprejudice and hate crimes.Have students write aprofile of each type ofcommunity.

Local IssuesResearch ProjectLevel:CHALLENGINGSkills: Research, CriticalThinking, Teamwork,Decision-making

Have students do researchin your school or commu-nity to learn about reportsof hate crimes andresponses to them, andevaluate the responses.Direct students to localnewspapers and policeblotters, and encouragethem to interview lawenforcement officers,community activists, andlabor representatives.Optional Extension: Guidestudents to act on theinformation they discoverby designing a campaign tocombat intolerance in yourschool or community.Divide the class intocommittees to accomplishtheir goal: publicity, arts,coalition-building.

E X T E N S I O N A C T I V I T I E S

Members of the Painters Union volunteer to repaint Dawn Fast Horse’s house.

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This guideprovides activities to useBEFORE,DURING andAFTERviewing the video.Different activities have been designed for three levels:BASIC, AVERAGE andCHALLENGING.Choose the activitiesthat best suit yourschedule and yourstudents’ needs. Onthe left are suggestedplans for three- andfive-day lessons.

DAY 1

• ClassroomContract

• Key TermsWord Web

• Groups andInstitutionsScavengerHunt

DAY 2

• Quick-Write

VIEWING

• View theVideo

DAY 3

• Understand-ing Diversity:Symbology

• CommunityStructuresDiscussion

DAY 4

• Understand-ing Diversity:Discussionand Role Play

• Assign FreeSpeech vs.Hate Speech& Local IssuesProjects

DAY 5

• Town Meeting

• Round RobinWriting/ClassLog

• Assign APersonalPerspective &StandingTogetherEssays

A C T I V I T Y P L A N N E R


BEFORE VIEWING AFTER VIEWING

DAY 1

• ClassroomContract

• Key TermsWord Web

• Quick-Write

DAY 2

• View theVideo

• Understand-ing Diversity:Symbology

DAY 3

• CommunityStructuresDiscussion

• Town Meeting

• Assign A PersonalPerspective &StandingTogetherEssays

BEFORE VIEWING VIEWING

AFTERVIEWING

AFTERVIEWING

5-DAY LESSON

RESPECTAgree to allow speakers tocomplete their statementseven when they seemobjectionable.

CONFIDENTIALITYAgree that no one willidentify their classmates byname or through otheridentifying factors whentalking outside of class.

teachers as well asstudents—agree to someground rules for theduration of this program.The contract should becreated cooperatively.The following issues areimportant to address:

When studying issuesinvolving bias, prejudice,and tolerance within oursociety, it is important tocreate a safe classroomenvironment in whichhonest discussions cantake place. To help createsuch an environment, youmay wish to implement acontract under which allclassroom participants—

SECURITYAgree to a ban on futureretaliation for anythingsaid during the course ofthis program.

SAFETYMost importantly, askstudents what they need tofeel safe in this situationand work with the class toarrive at procedures thatensure that all will feel safe.

C L A S S R O O M C O N T R A C T

3-DAY LESSON

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Thesequotesmay be used as catalysts for writing projects ordiscussion in class.

“What luck for rulers thatmen do not think.”

— Adolf Hitler

“The only thing necessaryfor the triumph of evil isfor good men to donothing.”

— Edmund Burke

“Injustice always breedsfear…the main difficultyof the race question doesnot lie so much in theactual condition of theblacks as it does in themental attitude of thewhites.”

— James Weldon Johnson

“To be a Negro in thiscountry and to be relativelyconscious is to be in ragealmost all the time.”

— James Baldwin

“One may no more live inthe world without pickingup the moral prejudices ofthe world than one will beable to go to hell withoutperspiring.”

— H.L. Mencken

W A T C H W O R D S


“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishmentof religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; orabridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or theright of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petitionthe government for grievances.”

–The First Amendment, U.S. Constitution

“Black people have organi-zations that fight for blackpower, and Jews look outfor each other. But thereisn’t anyone except theKlan who will fight for therights of white people..”

–David Duke,former Grand Wizard

of the Ku Klux Klan

“In Germanythey came first for theCommunists, and I didn’tspeak up because I wasn’t aCommunist. Then, theycame for the Jews and Ididn’t speak up because Iwasn’t a Jew. Then theycame for the trade union-ists, and I didn’t speak upbecause I wasn’t a tradeunionist. Then they camefor the Catholics and Ididn’t speak up because Iwas a Protestant. Then theycame for me, and by thattime no one was left tospeak up.”

— Pastor MartinNiemoller

“The test of couragecomes when we are in the minority;

the test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority.”— Ralph W. Sockman

“Liberty means responsibility.

That is why most men dread it.”— George Bernard Shaw

“Since when do you have

to agree with people

to defend them from injustice?”— Lillian Hellman

“Whereas each man claimshis freedom as a matter ofright, the freedom heaccords to other men is amatter of toleration.”

— Walter Lippmann

“You can’t hold a mandown without stayingdown with him.”

— Booker T. Washington

“You can kill a man, butyou can’t kill an idea.”

— Medgar Evers,civil rights leader

assassinated in 1963

“The opposite of hate isnot love, it is indifference.”

— Elie Wiesel,Nobel Laureate

“Those who deny freedomto others deserve it not forthemselves.”

— Abraham Lincoln

��ProgramGoals Students will:

• explore communitystructures thatsupport diversityand resist intolerance;

• examine the forcesthat influencepeople towardprejudice;

• understand howhate groups targetindividuals andgroups within acommunity;

• relate conceptsexplored in thevideo to students’own communityand school.

In 1986 the whitesupremacist AryanCongress declared theNorthwest to be their“homeland.” Hate groupsin the region then becamebolder and more violent.In 1993 Billings founditself the target of a seriesof hate crimes: Ku KluxKlan fliers were distribut-ed, tombstones in theJewish cemetery wereoverturned, the home of aNative American familywas spray painted withswastikas, members of anAfrican-American churchwere harassed and intimi-dated, and bricks werethrown through windowsthat displayed menorahs(candelabras) for theJewish holiday ofHanukkah.

Rather than accept thegrowing climate of fearand intimidation, thecommunity took a stand.Those who were nottargeted stood firm besidethose who were. Cityofficials and law enforce-ment officers made strongstatements against theactivities. The Painters Union formed a work forceto paint over racist graffiti.Religious and communityleaders sponsored humanrights activities. And thelocal newspaper printedfull-page menorahs for

display in homes andbusinesses throughout thetown. Most of the 10,000people who displayed themenorahs were not Jewish;they displayed the symbolsas an act of solidarityagainst the forces ofintolerance.

Much of this story is toldby people directly involvedin the incidents, or bycitizens who refused toremain passive as hatecrimes were committedagainst members of theircommunity. In addition,Not In Our Town presents adramatic interview with anex-supremacist who hasrenounced his past affilia-tions and hate crimes.This video tells the story ofcourageous Americanswho chose to say, unequiv-ocally,“Not In Our Town.”

Not In Our Town isthe inspiring storyof the people ofBillings, Montana,who took a standagainst a series ofhate crimes in theircommunity.Together, theylived up to theAmerican values ofcourage, tolerance,and cooperationwhen forces ofdisintegrationthreatened.

S U M M A R Y


Billings’ Eugene Trottie, of Chippewa ancestry

Bill

ings

Gaz

ette

, Ste

ven

G. S

mit

h

CALIFORNIA WORKING GROUPProducers of WE DO THE WORK public television series

5867 Ocean View Drive • Oakland, CA 94618 • 510-547-8484

CALIFORNIA WORKINGGROUP

STAFFDebra Chaplan, Executive DirectorPatrice O’Neil, Executive Producer

Rhian Miller, ProducerCraig Berggold, Education Director

Valerie Lapin, Communication DirectorKyung Sun Yu, Associate ProducerLinda Peckham, Associate Producer

NOT IN OUR TOWNPRODUCERSPatrice O’NeillRhian Miller

HOSTWill Durst

STRAIGHT LINE EDITORIAL DEVELOPMENT STAFF

Kiera HorganPeder Jones

Lana CostantiniRabbi Mikki Bourne

GRAPHIC DESIGNBarbara Nishi

VIEWING GUIDE EDITORCraig Berggold

NOT IN OUR TOWNVIEWING GUIDE

ADVISORY COMMITTEEJackie Berman

Jewish Community Relations CouncilWendell Brooks

Berkeley High SchoolTeacherBarbara Byrd

Labor Education, University of OregonJeff Greendorfer

AFL-CIO Investment TrustsConn Hallinan

UC Santa Cruz Journalism Dept.Rabbi Doug Kahn

Jewish Community Relations CouncilAliah Majon, Counselor

Jack WeinsteinMilpitas High School Teacher/

Facing History and Ourselves

★★★1/2Video

Librarian

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“Extraordinary resource…shows how students can take a stand against racism and anti-semitism.”

NNOOTT IINNOOUURR TTOOWWNN

the story of a community that successfully fought hate and intolerance…

Mark Skvirsky, Facing History

“Uplifting…strongly recommended”

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