Hate Has No Home Here
By Albert B. Kelly
When it comes to Bridgeton, I can say that hate has no home
here and while every now and then it makes an appearance in one form or
another, it has no home here because we refuse to play host whether in our
homes, businesses, community spaces, neighborhoods or whatever else may form
the fabric of our community.
That’s the essence of the “Hate Has No Home Here” or “HHNHH
message taking root in Bridgeton and throughout Cumberland County. The “Hate
Has No Home Here” sign project began in Chicago in one of the more diverse
neighborhoods in that city. Initially centered on the Peterson Elementary
School in North Park, it is a message that basically celebrates diversity and
encourages communities to combat hateful messages and behavior in their
neighborhoods by taking a stand and saying “no more”.
That may not sound like a big deal, but think about the
times in which we live- the nerve endings that lay just below the surface
twitching at the slightest provocation. Think about the tribal warfare that’s
broken out in this country in the last few years, we’re destroying ourselves
from the inside out and that doesn’t need to be the case.
So we begin where we always begin; gathering neighbors face-to-face,
starting conversations and listening, actively protecting each other. But
before we even get to that, it all starts with a mindset. The HHNHH campaign
has as its center piece, signs and posters that declare a particular space off
limits to hate; verbal, physical or otherwise.
The HHNHH design and logo is copyrighted by Hollywood-North
Park Community Association and the campaign has nothing to do with partisan
politics. It’s not right or left, nor can it be used for profit-making
enterprises or campaigns and it is not affiliated with any political party,
candidate, or organization.
This lack of affiliation is a good thing because in our age
of “identity politics”, which is the point of a particularly spear, we’ve
forgotten where our strengths lay- the very things that make this country and our
respective communities unique. We’ve become all too willing to blame “those
people” and the ever-present “them”. But at the end of each day, we all still want
to be safe, loved, cared for, and relevant.
Working with Ross Stanger, who is the Supervisor of
Instruction with Vineland Public Schools, we hope to take this message far and
wide in Cumberland County and in each of our communities. Ross started HHNHH in
the Vineland Public Schools because, as he put it to me, he wants to make sure
that “all children know they are safe and valued regardless of ethnic
background, language, race, etc.”
Both Ross and I share the same hope, which is that all
citizens and children will see the “Hate Has No Home Here” signs, internalize
that message, begin a dialogue about exactly what that means, and be deliberate
about showing respect and tolerance toward one another. This is to be part of
the balm to heal those exposed nerve endings and where necessary, to bind up
the wounds between groups.
In Vinland schools, the HHNHH message is part of their
character education program and students create videos, podcasts and other
vehicles for the message espousing tolerance, respect, and acting in an upright
and honorable way. Beyond that, they work on specifically how to debate,
discuss and listen, but in a thoroughly respectful way. This message and the
HHNHH campaign are equally as relevant for the Bridgeton Public Schools as well
as in Millville.
To highlight that message and to help nurture “Hate Has No
Home Here” roots here in Bridgeton, I have taken the steps to organize a rally
which will take place on Saturday, October 28th on the steps of the
City Hall Annex beginning at 4:00pm. The section of E. Commerce Street in front
of City Hall Annex (181 E. Commerce Street) will be closed off to vehicle
traffic and the space will be open to anyone and everyone- the more the better.
I am inviting, asking, encouraging-heck I’m even pleading
with all people who are tired of the division, discord, strife, bitterness, and
hatefulness that seems to be the coin of the realm these days to come out and
be counted and then to go back to their homes, neighborhoods, businesses, and
schools and say loudly and clearly that “Hate
Has No Home Here”.