10 Ways to Fight Hate: Stay Engaged

Voice 1

Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Adam Navis.

Voice 2

And I’m Bruce Gulland. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Click here to follow along with this program on YouTube.

Voice 1

How do you fix a community that is broken? How do you bring people together to make a positive change? Wagner is a city in South Dakota, in the United States. There are two main people groups in Wagner. There are many white people and there are Native Americans living nearby.

Voice 2

And like in many other places, these differences have led to racial tensions. Not all people are treated equally. This influences many parts of life. It makes progress in the town slow. The community wanted to improve these tensions. People from different backgrounds and different races joined together to achieve this goal.

Voice 1

In 2008, they started with something simple, even though it was also very difficult: they talked to each other. The community in Wagner started study circles. These were small groups of people who met together. They discussed important issues in the community. People did not always agree. But they always respected each other.

Voice 2

The community of Wagner saw the benefits of these study circles. They wanted these groups to continue. In the groups, they talked about hard issues. They talked about poverty. They addressed how people in the community had hurt people different than them. They wanted to fix this hatred. They wanted to bring more diversity to their city. They wanted to make life better for everyone in their community. They knew it would take time, and lots of work. They stayed engaged.

Voice 1

Today’s Spotlight program is the eighth in a series of 10 programs. In this series of programs, we are looking at 10 ways to fight hate.

Voice 2

Hate is powerful enough to damage people and communities. The Southern Poverty Law Center has made this list of 10 ways to fight hate in your community. On today’s Spotlight we will look at the eighth way to fight hate in your community: Stay Engaged.

Voice 1

Sometimes, there is one act of hate that you can fight against. There is one rally or one hateful person. But usually, hate runs deeper. You may have to work for a long time to get rid of it. This Spotlight program is about how to fight hate when the problem is too big or too deep to go away quickly. Big problems like discrimination and racial hatred may take a long time to heal. People must work hard to get rid of hate in their communities. That hard work may take a long time. People must look toward the future.

Voice 2

The Southern Poverty Law Center, or SPLC, says that planning for your community’s future is important. Every community has problems. But when people do not look at or deal with the problems, the problems seem bigger. They become more difficult to solve. And the future of the community looks frightening. This is especially true with the problem of hate in a community. So, the SPLC encourages communities to stay engaged. That is, it is important that communities do not give up in the fight against hate. They must plan for the community’s future.

Voice 1

The problem of hate does not usually come from outside a community. Instead, hate begins inside a community. Groups of people may blame each other for problems in the community. Or people may feel as if they have no voice in their community. They feel unsupported and powerless. Differences and change can cause fear. And fear can lead to hate.

Voice 2

Communities can deal with fear and hate. The SPLC says that a tolerant and united community can stand against hate. Imagine a community that accepts people no matter who they are or what they believe. That community does not accept hate. Hate cannot exist if people do not let it. Stopping hate in your community will improve your community’s future.

Voice 1

But where can you start? The SPLC says that the first step to changing your community is to change yourself! You can change the way you speak about people who are different than you. You can also change the way you think about people who are different than you. Do you have an opinion about a particular group of people? These opinions are biases. They can negatively influence your actions in your community.

Voice 2

Changes in individuals are very important. But changes in the whole community are important too. And there are many things people can do to encourage communication and tolerance in a community.

Voice 1

There are many examples of groups who worked together and stayed engaged to fight hate in their communities. Here is one example you can use in your community!

Voice 2

Everyday Democracy is a group that helps communities discuss issues with each other. One way they do this is with study circles. These study groups are one way to start community discussions. We talked about how this worked in Wagner, South Dakota, at the beginning of the program. Study groups are safe places for different people to talk with each other about their opinions and beliefs. People from different groups can come together and get to know each other.

Voice 1

You can start a study circle in your community. In fact, you can start any group to talk openly about the issues in your community. These groups should accept every person. They should respect every person’s opinion. And when people in a study circle talk, they do not always have to agree on everything. That is even part of the fun!

Voice 2

People who join study circles gain understanding of different people. They gain hope for a better future. They know that they can help to solve problems and conflicts in their community.

Voice 1

People in a community should be able to live together in peace. How will you help plan and influence the future of where you live? Hate will not disappear overnight. Stay engaged in the long-term fight against hate in your community.

Voice 2

This is the eighth program in a series of 10 programs on 10 ways to fight hate. This list is from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Southern Poverty Law Center is a group that works toward racial justice. They monitor hate crimes, teach tolerance, and seek justice. Here are their 10 ways to fight hate:

Act, Join Forces, Support the Victims, Speak Up, Educate Yourself, Create an Alternative, Pressure Leaders, Stay Engaged, Teach Acceptance, and Dig Deeper.

Voice 1

Keep listening to Spotlight to hear the complete series. You can leave a comment on our website. Or email us at contact@spotlightenglish.com. You can also find us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Voice 2

The writers of this program were Liz Waid and Amelia Berglund. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.spotlightenglish.com. This program is called “Ten Ways to Fight Hate: Stay Engaged.”

Voice 1

Visit our website to download our free official App for Android and Apple devices. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!

Question:

Do you have a friend, family member, coworker, or someone you know who also wants to fight hate in your community? What do they do?