Courageous Conversations: A Rise in Hate

The Courageous Conversations planning committee has been at work over these past months putting together our Winter/Spring series which we are excited to share with you. We hope you will put these important virtual conversations on your calendar. Thank you to Nicole Kramer and the Memorial Hall Library for hosting this series!

Courageous Conversations presents a 5-part series on the rise in hate, where it stems from, and the personal impacts. Specifically, these conversations will focus on hate towards Black and Brown people, the LGBTQ community, the Jewish community, Asian Americans and Immigrants. Join in as many of these conversations as you are able!  For more information please visit – https://mhl.org/adult-program/2022/courageous-conversations-rise-hate

Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. – Keynote Address with Jeneé Osterheldt, culture columnist for the Boston Globe

Followed by a conversation with impacted members from our community. Register on Zoom.

Hate incidents are on the rise, instilling fear across the country, including right here in Andover.

Courageous Conversations presents a 5-part series on the rise in hate, where it stems from, and the personal impacts. Specifically, these conversations will focus on hate towards Black and Brown people, the LGBTQ community, the Jewish community, Asian Americans and Immigrants. Join in as many of these conversations as you are able!  For more information please visit – https://mhl.org/adult-program/2022/courageous-conversations-rise-hate

Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023 @ 7:00 p.m. –  Rise in Hate: LGBTQ+

Moderator:  Ian Whalen-Stone (All Pronouns), Greater Boston PFLAG
Community Participants:  Renee Manning (she/her); Grayson Dinino (he/him), AHS class of 2022; LGBTQ+ parent

Massachusetts is witnessing a rise in hate towards the LBGTQ+ community, as is the nation, fueled by misinformation and a lack of awareness. The forces of opposition are small, yet loud and increasingly more organized. This has fueled a fractured society that unfairly politicizes the bodies of LGBTQ+ folks who are just trying to live their lives.

The devastating effects of hate against the LGBTQ community are evident in a suicide attempt rate that is 4 times higher among LGBTQ youth than their peers. LGBTQ youth are not inherently prone to suicide risk because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, rather placed at higher risk because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized in society.

This Courageous Conversation aims to correct misinformation and provide an overview of approaches that community members and allies can use to improve conversations about LGBTQ equality, with a focus on illustrating the concrete harms and hate that LGBTQ people face here in Andover and across Massachusetts, helping straight, cis-gender people see those harms through their own eyes, and avoiding missteps that can create roadblocks to successful discussions.

For more information, click here.

Thursday, March 2, 2023 @ 7:00 p.m. – Rise in Hate: Antisemitism

Rabbi Max Chaiken, Temple Emanuel of Andover
Cantor Vera Broekhuysen, Temple Emanu-El of Haverhill
Peggy Shukur, Interim Regional Director of Anti-Defamation League New England

Throughout the past several years we have witnessed a resurgence of virulent antisemitism, from the open embrace of white supremacist ideologies to celebrities, politicians, and insidious behaviors that appear across the political spectrum. Among the harmful effects have been increased levels of fear and isolation as Jewish communities throughout the United States, and the world at large, grapple with this age-old hatred in new ways.

This Courageous Conversation aims to explore first-hand the experience of the Jewish experience as it is impacted by hate, sharing ways that the recent upswing in antisemitism has impacted our communities.  We will expand our conversation to discuss what each of us can do in a bold conversation about allyship, education, and the ways we can unite against hatred, bigotry, and intolerance.

Wednesday, March 29, 2023 @ 7:00 p.m. – Rise in Hate:  Asian Americans

Details TBD

Rise in Hate:  Immigrants

Details TBD

 

Thank you for joining us this Winter/Spring of 2023!