santa cruz county unites against hate

SCCUSIC is a county-wide initiative aiming to reduce hate and bias incidents and support effective ways of addressing them when they occur.

Santa Cruz County United for Safe and Inclusive Communities (SCCUSIC) is a robust, but informal, county-wide collaborative initiative formed in Summer 2021 to find ways to reduce hate and bias incidents and support effective ways of addressing them when they occur. Drawing upon the inspiring films, resources, and expertise of Not In Our Town (niot.org), our Planning Group and 3 subgroups have put together a set of core events to mark United Against Hate Week (Nov. 14-20, 2021), including film screenings, a virtual panel, bystander training, and more! The effort was spearheaded by Santa Cruz resident Marci DuPraw, who lost her nephew to a hate crime in 2017, but the large and diverse Planning Group shares ownership for the effort. The Santa Cruz County branch of the NAACP is providing administrative support for the initial phase of SCCUSIC’s work. Facilitation and contract administration are provided pro bono by Collaborative Choices, LLC.

What We Did for United Against Hate Week 2021 -- The County and 4 cities passed resolutions supporting participation in United Against Hate Week. The SCCUSIC Planning Group organized four core events, and other community organizations and individuals organized their own events. SCCUSIC kept a running list of all events, which we publicized through the press, flyers, social media, and a KSQD radio interview with Len Beyea (“Talk of the Bay”), which you can listen to here: https://ksqd.org/united-against-hate-week-takes-off-in-santa-cruz/

Results — The Watsonville Film Festival estimates that 133 people viewed the Not In Our Town films through the WFF virtual platform during United Against Hate Week (more if any of these viewers were teachers watching with their classes). Viewers came from Santa Cruz, Aptos, Scotts Valley, Watsonville, and a few from outside the area. (For photos courtesy of Sharon Shriver-Bell, see: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/186scr6Pi1BP16m9jWY2G9KnFZjZgfG_6?usp=sharing)

• At least 44 people participated in the virtual panel of experts hosted by Santa Cruz Public Libraries. (The panel was recorded! Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eL8fEPPWqE)

• 23 people participated in Hollaback’s Bystander Training.

• Stand Up for Racial Justice tells us that 15-20 people participated in the two “Calling In” Workshops that SURJ offered during United Against Hate Week.

We are now exploring additional ways that SCCUSIC can make a difference. If interested in joining SCCUSIC, please email SCCUSIC@gmail.com.

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100% of your donations go to reducing hate and bias incidents in Santa Cruz county & responding effectively when they do occur! Thank you for your help!

For further information, please see the following links:

• The list of planning group invitees, most of whom have enthusiastically jumped on board;

• A brief description of the concept behind SCCUSIC’s efforts;

• A flyer describing what United Against Hate Week is (Spanish version here);

• A flyer describing the SCCUSIC events planned for United Against Hate Week;

• A flyer describing the anti-hate films we will be screening that week, courtesy of Not In Our Town (Spanish version here);

• Convenient registration links for United Against Hate Week events;

• A flyer describing what a Hate and Bias Response Team is;

• Summaries of the Planning Group calls we have had so far;

• Link to Santa Cruz United Against Hate Facebook page here; and

• Link to event page for our kick-off event Nov. 14, 6-8pm, at Live Oak Brewery.

event details

1. Sunday, Nov. 14, 6-8pm, Kick-off Event: Screening 3-5 short anti-hate films made by Not In Our Town (NIOT.org). Story-telling flavor (not dry). Focus on inspiring action to reduce hate & bias incidents and find ways to respond to incidents more effectively. Moderated, with 15 minutes or so of audience discussion between films.

2. All week (Nov. 14-20), Watsonville Film Festival hosted virtual viewing of 6-8 of NIOT’s films on a platform that allows folks throughout the county to view the films from their homes at times convenient to them. Two of the films (viewable on YouTube) have Spanish subtitles.

3. Mid-week (Wed., Nov. 17, 6:30-8:00pm), Santa Cruz Public Libraries hosted a virtual expert panel, moderated by Rabbi Paula Marcus. Focus: what can we do to improve the situation here (to reduce hate & bias incidents and find ways to respond to incidents more effectively)? Spanish translation provided.

4. Saturday, Nov. 20, 1pm, Hollaback conducted a virtual training on what bystanders can do if they see a hate or bias incident unfolding - free to anyone in the county.