2 years after launch, Hamilton anti-hate coalition says racism still prevalent

Two years after local organizations came together to launch a campaign to stand up for diversity and inclusion, the No Hate in the Hammercoalition said Wednesday that hate and racism remain prevalent.

The coalition presented a report on its work over the last two years, in a virtual event streamed live on its social media platforms.

Ruth Greenspan, a founding member of the coalition, said much work remains to be done in Hamilton.

"Two years later we're not in a great situation. ... There's lots of reported and unreported hate, institutionalized racism has been called out in many local and worldwide institutions," Greenspan said.

"There's a great deal of work still needing to be done to build an inclusive community that is safe."

We also want to fight all kinds of oppression we want our local institutions to be places that are free from hate and discrimination.- Ruth Greenspan, No Hate in the Hammer member

The No Hate In The Hammercampaign was organized by the Hamilton Community Legal Clinic, the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, and the John Howard Society of Hamilton, Burlington & Area.

It was formedin response togrowing concerns in 2019:members of hate groups gathering in front of city hall on a regular basis, as well as violence at Hamilton Pride and an alarming number of police-reported hate crimes. (Hamilton Police Service hassaid there has beena decrease in the number of reported hate crimes, but acknowledged not everyone reports those crimes and incidents.)

"We also want to fight all kinds of oppression we want our local institutions to be places that are free from hate and discrimination," Greenspan said.

'Speak up for others'

No Hate in the Hammer member Mouna Bilesaid the group hosted an anti-hate community summit in Mayunder the theme"Listen, Learn, Act."

She said there were some key takeaways from the summit.

"Having honest conversations was noted as an important step that can save lives," Bile said.

"Attendees reported that it was necessary to interact with diverse communities, to continue having tough conversations and to speak up for others who may not feel safe to do so.

"Allyship is a process, which must ensure that all our voices are included," Bile added.

Anti-hate toolkit

The coalition now has a part-time staff, thanks to the Hamilton Community Foundation, which has provided funding.

Bile said an upcoming project for the team is the creation of an anti-hate toolkit, which will serve as "a practical guide to tackling hate, both individually and collectively, across all sectors of this community."

Pauline Kajiura, manager community initiatives for Hamilton, joined the Wednesday panel and highlighted the work the city is doing. Shesaid two new reports will be brought before the general issues committee next week.

The first report comes after city council requested recommendations for councillors to consider, in response to incidents of hate in Hamilton.

Consultant Rebecca Suthernswas commissionedby the city tofacilitatepublic engagements to hear people's experiences,and what they believe should happen to address hate, discrimination and racism in Hamilton.

Sutherns's recommendationswill be put forward on Monday, Kajiura said.

"Council wanted these recommendations to be community-informed, informed by people who experienced hate first-hand, as well as other community members."

The second report focuses onhate flags and symbols.

The council had asked for suggestions on what the municipality should do to address "those signs of hatethat we, hopefully not too often, see but do see, such as the confederate flag or the swastika," Kajiura said.

Kajiuradid not elaborate on the recommendations, butsaid both reports will be available online whenthe general issues committee agenda for Mondayis published.

Alternative reporting system in the works

Another virtual discussion this week on "responding to hate in Hamilton" that was hosted by the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion (HCCI) discussed the need for a better reporting tool as another wayto help combat hate.

HCCIand McMaster University's Research Shop recently heldfocus groupswith 16 BIPOCparticipants aboutreporting hate crimes.Preliminary findings show theydon't report incidents to officers "due to concerns about police violence, intimidation and inaction."

Kojo Damptey, HCCI's executive director, shared those results during thelive chat on Tuesday, saying the participants also said there should be an alternative, online hate reporting system, which HCCI is developing.