Hamilton’s Community Response to Hate includes critical frameworks and practices that are necessary for addressing all levels of hate, racism, and discrimination including: decolonization; Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression; calling in versus calling out; bridge building; and, steps for moving from allyship to meaningful solidarities as “co-conspirators.”
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The No Hate in the Hammer Coalition is asking all Hamilton citizens to denounce the organized hate and discrimination group that gathered at Terryberry Library on November 24th.
Yesterday at Terryberry Library an organized hate group, whose actions are part of a larger movement of organized hate groups across North America spreading hate, fear, violence, lies and discriminatory views against 2SLGBTQ communities and children, used a Drag Storytime event as an excuse to spread hate.
We must all come to understand that hate speech is an abuse of freedom of expression. Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, said, “The moment people start publicly inciting violence, hostility or discrimination against a group of persons, then this is hate speech not free speech.”
Let it be clear, organized hate groups are not free to express hate and ignore Article 2 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, or the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and provincial and territorial human rights legislation, which provide legislative protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. We must not ignore this action as a one off, but rather recognize this as part of an organized hate movement, with many other groups spreading hatred and fear at 2SLGBTQ events across North America.
According to the Canadian Bar Association, “All children and youth have the right to be free from discrimination because of sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.”
“The rights of children and youth with respect to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression (SOGIE) apply to Canadian children and youth in a wide range of areas including (but not limited to) privacy, health care, sexual health education, identification documents, use of facilities, access to services, education (including gay-straight alliances, choice of companions at school events, and SOGIE inclusive curricula), employment, child protection, age of consent laws, youth justice and detention, and parental recognition.”
The 2SLGBTQ community is understandably feeling many emotions as they witness acts of hate repeatedly occur across Ontario and Canada. Undoubtedly, this includes feelings of anxiety, fear, sadness, anger, and many others. They deserve to have those feelings affirmed by public institutions like governments and police, but also by the Hamilton community as a whole. Currently, there are bomb threats against schools with gender diverse teachers in Ontario, Pride events are being threatened and protested across the country, political candidates for positions like school trustees are running on platforms seeking to explicitly harm and exclude 2SLGBTQ community members, the same “grooming” argument is being used against Trans people generally over gender-affirming medical care for children, a night club in Colorado Springs was just the site of a mass shooting, and hate crimes against 2SLGBTQ and other vulnerable communities are on the rise in Canada and elsewhere. It cannot rest solely on the 2SLGBTQ community to bear witness, defend against, and call out this pattern of hate and violence; we all have a role. Hamilton cannot be a home to hate.
On April 29, community organizations hosted a press conference at Hamilton City Hall condemning the display of hate symbols and the rising targeted hate crimes in Hamilton. In interviews that took place immediately after the press conference, the mayor made comments to the media that countered the calls to action made by Indigenous communities regarding colonial statues. Instead of supporting the requests for removal of statues and monuments that immortalize and celebrate genocide, the mayor used this opportunity to propose his own personal solution to retain the statues and to add explanatory signage nearby.
Colonization is not a force of the past, but rather a continued system that impacts Indigenous communities today in various ways, including through ongoing discrimination. A March 2021 representative survey in Hamilton focused on the extent and context of discrimination, found that approximately 83% of Indigenous Peoples reported experiencing discrimination in Hamilton in the last three years compared to 48.5% of non-immigrant White respondents[1]. The most common reported bases for discrimination were Indigenous identity (61.6%), ethnicity or culture (32.9%), and race or skin colour (28.8%).
Further, Indigenous peoples have stated that the statue of Sir John A. MacDonald, and more recently that of Queen Victoria at Gore Park, are hurtful and triggering. This would not be altered by the addition of signage around the status.
In this context of high levels of reported discrimination, the City of Hamilton must take concrete steps to support Indigenous communities, and not to further traumatize them. As we continue to reckon with centuries of colonization, it is important that we listen to and honour the voices of Indigenous communities. No Hate in the Hammer stands with Indigenous advocates who are asking that monuments of hate and genocide to be taken down. This request is simple and feasible, and we continue to look to the City of Hamilton and its elected representatives to attend to these community demands.
[1] https://hamiltonimmigration.ca/sites/default/files/2021-12/HIPC%20Discrimination%20Experiences%20Report_Revised.pdf
Dear Community Members – regrettably, we have to cancel the April 27th event. Please stay tuned for future No Hate in the Hammer events as we continue the necessary conversations about collectively addressing hate in Hamilton. Thank you.
Community members are invited to join us on April 27th for “The Role of the City in Addressing Hate” at 4:30 PM.
Presentations featuring:
Join to learn more about these initiatives at the city of Hamilton that address hate in our communities. The event will be on Zoom (https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89406422581) and live-streamed on the No Hate in the Hammer YouTube page.
Registration is not required.
The issue of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women, Girls, Trans and 2 Spirit individuals (MMIWGT2S) is still unrecognized and in need of immediate action.
Join No Hate in the Hammer and Sisters in Spirit for “Strengthening the Circles, Reclaiming Power and Taking Action on MMIWGT2S” on March 23rd at 4:30 PM. The event will be live-streamed or you may join us in person at Theatre Aquarius.
Click here for in-Person registration.
Click here to attend via Zoom.
Dear Community Members,
We are excited to present the save-the-date for the third session in our Creating a Community Response to Hate speaker series.
We welcome all to join us for The Many Faces of Islamophobia. We will be exploring what Islamophobia is, the different ways it can manifest, the experiences, and the impact of this hate. We will be announcing our speakers shortly.
📅 February 23rd, 2022
⏰ 4:30 – 5:45 PM (EST)
📍 Via Zoom (https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81246283001) or live-streamed on our YouTube page
In light of the recent hate crimes that have escalated within Canada and targeted Muslim-Canadians, No Hate in the Hammer joins others across the country to express our sadness, outrage, and stand in solidarity with Muslim communities to denounce any form of hate, especially Islamophobia.
In London, Ontario, we grieve the lives of four members of the Afzaal family who were killed in a hate-driven vehicle attack. In Cambridge, we are saddened to think of the vandalization of The Baitul Kareem Mosque in an act of anti-Muslim hate. In our Hamilton community, we, too, are pained when we think of the mother and daughter in the Meadowlands who were victims of an anti-Muslim terror attack. The mother and daughter were called racial slurs and were almost killed by a vehicle.
While conversations denouncing Islamophobia have risen due to the terror attack in London, sadly, we remember that these incidents are not new to Canada as anti-Muslim hate crimes have only increased in the past years and are etched in our memory. We are still mourning over the 2017 murderous attack on the Quebec City Mosque where six Muslim men were fatally killed.
Policies at the federal and provincial levels also further contributed to anti-Muslim hate and discrimination in Canada. Two examples are the “Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act” and Quebec’s Bill 21. The so-called “Zero Tolerance for Barbaric Cultural Practices Act” contributed to perpetuating gendered stereotypes and Islamophobic sentiments. Quebec’s Bill 21 systemically prohibits public service workers from wearing religious symbols including crucifixes, hijabs, kippahs, or turbans.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims presented a statement and recommendations (PDF) at the recent National Summit on Islamophobia. This document outlines anti-Muslim hate in Canada and shares 61 policy recommendations to combat it. This is one way we can understand how to directly address this issue.
We stand in solidarity with Muslim communities across Canada and call on leaders to take action to dismantle systems that perpetuate all forms of hate. To do this, we must learn, listen, and acknowledge how prejudice is present in our communities to break these barriers. Members of our communities deserve to live in a hate-free Hamilton where places of worship are respected, and groups of all ethnic backgrounds, religions, or identities can thrive.
In solidarity,
No Hate in the Hammer
No Hate in the Hammer is excited to present the report for the Listen Learn Act: An Anti-Hate Community Summit held on May 18th, 19th and 20th, 2021.
The report highlights the key themes, takeaways and action items from the summit. In addition, we provided an analysis of survey results and explored future topics and directions for no hate in Hamilton.
Join us on August 4, 2021, from 12:00 – 1:00 pm for two years of actions and reflections.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 8, 2021
No Hate in the Hammer/Pas de haine dans le Hammer
https://nohateinthehammer.ca
info@nohateinthehammer.ca
ALL HAMILTONIANS INVITED TO ATTEND LISTEN LEARN ACT:
A COMMUNITY ANTI-HATE SUMMIT
HAMILTON, ON: Today No Hate in the Hammer releases the full program and list of speakers for Listen Learn Act: A Community Anti-Hate Summit (May 19-20) and invites people from across Hamilton to register for this free, innovative online event.
Listen Learn Act is an action-oriented virtual summit that will bring together local leaders, international experts from Southern Poverty Law Centre and Western States Center, and the input of summit participants to build a community response to hate in Hamilton.
With a grant through the Democracy, Diversity and Human Rights Virtual Grant Program from US Embassy & Consulates in Canada, this is a first-of-its-kind experience where Hamiltonains who are ready to take an active role in anti-racism and anti-oppression work can learn about effective anti-hate action from local and international experts working together.
“Hamilton, get ready for Listen Learn and Act — an exciting virtual summit where we will look to combatting racism, oppression and hate,” says Sandi Bell, Chair of No Hate in the Hammer. “It’s time to roll up our sleeves and pull together because no one can do this alone. This event provides a key opportunity for people to map out the Hamilton that we want to see and understand how a community response is the only way to get there.”
Speakers include experts from the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, the City of Hamilton’s Hate Prevention & Mitigation Initiative, McMaster University and the University of Windsor, Beth Jacob Synagogue, Regional Diversity Roundtable, Refuge: Hamilton Centre for Newcomer Health, and GoodBodyFeel, among others.
The summit runs 9am-4pm on Wednesday, May 19th and Thursday, May 20th. Registration at no-hate.ca/summit is required but there is no cost to register. The first 200 registrants will have an opportunity to engage in facilitated small group discussions during the summit.
The summit includes three all-community events that are accessible without registration in the two-day summit main program:
French-language program on Tuesday May 18th at 6pm
Children’s program on Wednesday May 19th at 4pm
Youth-led program ‘The Future is Now!’ on Wednesday May 19th at 6pm
The building of a community response to hate in Hamilton will continue after the summit with a fall speakers series, also funded with support from US Embassy & Consulates in Canada.
About No Hate in the Hammer/Pas de haine dans le Hammer: NHH/PHH is a Hamilton-based coalition of individuals and organizations working together to make Hamilton a truly inclusive city where everyone is free from all forms of hate. We work for social change through education, collaboration, knowledge sharing, and advocacy. We foster relationships built on trust with communities, institutions, and government agencies. We facilitate conversations, promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, and nurture relationships and allyships. We value transparency and a culture of non-blaming and non-shaming.
About Southern Poverty Law Center: The Southern Poverty Law Center is the premier U.S. organization monitoring the activities of domestic hate groups and other extremists and is celebrating 50 years this August. It was founded in Montgomery Alabama by two civil rights lawyers to ensure that the promise of the Civil Rights movement became a reality for all. The Intelligence Project tracks and exposes the activities of over sixteen hundred hate groups and other domestic extremists including the Ku Klux Klan, white nationalists, the neo-Nazi movement, and anti-government militias.
About Western States Center: The Western States Center is based in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain States and works nationwide to strengthen inclusive democracy so all people can live, love, worship and work free from fear. It does this by: strengthening the organizing capacity of often-marginalized communities; providing training, leadership development, and organizational capacity support to social movements and leaders committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion; convening culture-makers to shift the narrative and use culture as a vehicle for base- and power-building in non-traditional social change spaces; and, assisting communities and civil society to effectively respond to social movements that exploit bigotry and intolerance.
About Listen Learn Act: A Community Anti-Hate Summit:
No cost to participate. Registration required. Online event.
Program: no-hate.ca/summit-program
Speakers and performers: no-hate.ca/summit-speakers
For further information:
Media Enquiries: info@nohateinthehammer.ca
Twitter: @nohateinthehamr, Instagram @nohateinthehammer
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