San Rafael, CA – To enhance its past efforts to stop hate in its tracks, the Marin County District Attorney’s Office is joining a national movement to address bullying and build safe and inclusive communities.
The Not In Your Town program offers trainings and informational events for students, families, school staff and community members focused on cultural awareness and acceptance. The District Attorney's Office has participated in public education campaigns to encourage kindness and understanding while addressing the dangers of social media and victimization. District Attorney Ed Berberian said participation in
Not In Our Town should be a sign that no intimidating or violent prejudicial acts will be tolerated in Marin County.
“We must continue to educate our community about the importance of acceptance and kindness,” Berberian said. “We must model our beliefs in every aspect of our lives. We must never stand by and allow evil to triumph.”
Not In Our Town and Not In Our School are both projects of The Working Group, an Oakland-based nonprofit founded in 1988. Not In Our Town was launched in 1995 with a landmark PBS film that documented the heroic efforts of Billings, Montana, citizens who stood up for their neighbors after a series of hate crimes. They inspired hundreds of communities in the United States and around the world to take action against hate.
For a number of years in Marin, staff from the DA’s Office have created and participated in public education campaigns to encourage kindness and understanding to address the dangers of social media when it is misused or abused. More than 1,500 students have listened to attorneys from the DA’s staff speak about social media and victimization. The department invited Marin students to participate in three anti-bullying films that today are being shown regularly in local schools.
“These videos were created with the perspective and commitment that it was the right thing to do to meet our office’s mission of not just prosecuting criminal law violators but more importantly engaging in public outreach designed to protect our residents and prevent ongoing victimization, particularly of our youth,” Berberian said.
The Not In Your Town program is a new outreach initiative wherein community organizations, law enforcement and schools are being asked to come together to offer trainings and informational events for students, families, school staff and community members focused on anti-bias, encouraging courageous conversation, raising cultural sensitivity and ending the social isolation of students who are perceived as “different.”
Learn more about Not In Our Town at NIOT.org.