In July the Human Relations Commission approved a recommendation to name September as "Not in Our Town" month in order to combat hate crimes against people of color or difference. This program started in Montana and has since spread to other smaller towns as a way to educate the public about diversity and to alert city officials against the violence and intimidation that can be used against non-majority groups. The City Council approved the proclamation shortly after the HRC meeting.
In July, President Clinton spoke out against hate crime, including those against gays and lesbians after a brutal attack near the White House. The President announced a special White House Conference on Hate Crimes to convene in November.
GCER hopes to join with other groups and work on hate crime projects with the city of Galesburg in an effort to educate the public to the dramatic threat that gay men and lesbians face in small towns like Galesburg. Gay residents nationwide have increasingly become targets of the most horrific acts of violent crime motivated by the victim's identity.
The need for hate crime conciousness and effective remedies was locally illustrated by the attack on a supposed gay man by teenagers in Rock Island, Illinois.
7-18-97, JUDGE REFUSES TO LOWER TEEN'S BOND, The Daily Dispatch, Moline.
Statistics on Hate Crime and States with Hate Crime Legislation
Human Rights Campaign: Hate Crime Project
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