Combating Antisemitism in the Charlotte Area: What Can You Do When You Witness Hate?
By Katie Cunningham
This weekend antisemitism and blatant hatred hit close to home, again, when swastikas and other graffiti were found at a Charlotte YMCA. News of the vandalism spread quickly online and both the YMCA of Greater Charlotte and the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte were swift in their responses. At the Stan Greenspon Center, we are far too aware of the historical significance of such events.
As an educational partner of the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte and as an academic institution present in both K-12 and college campuses in the region, we want to ensure everyone in the community is ready to respond appropriately when incidents of this nature happen. While we often have the best intention in our responses and allyship, we may not always be reacting in productive or safe ways.
The Stan Greenspon Center recommends the following steps to responding to antisemitic incidents in the greater Charlotte area.
- As soon as an incident comes to your attention, report it to the Jewish Federation through their online reporting tool, which is always posted on their homepage. The Jewish Federation of Charlotte is the go-to institution in the area for response and works closely with law enforcement and the Jewish community at large. The data collected through this form is shared and tracked in partnership with the ADL.
- Trust your local institutions to respond. Once you have reported the incident to the Federation, allow their team time to enact the proper response. The Federation is swift in their work and knows who to contact. Multiple calls or emails to the places where the incident took place may possibly cause an unintended delay in response. The Federation will work with law enforcement and the location/organization/school where the incident took place to respond with reactive measures, along with offering educational opportunities so that there can be more proactive steps taken in the future. The Stan Greenspon Center is proud to be one of the organizations that offers educational responses in the Charlotte area.
- When engaging in online spaces and social media, use best practices: post educational (not emotional) responses linked to vetted resources, do not repost hateful or triggering images that compound the trauma, and lift up messages of solidarity and allyship over ignorance and fear. Hate can only win when it is louder than those who oppose it.
If you are interested in having the Stan Greenspon Center present or hold a workshop at your place of work or at your child’s educational space, please email Katie Cunningham, Assistant Director, at cunninghamk@queens.edu.
For more on this subject, read Rabbi Judy’s blog from 2022: https://www.judyschindler.com/when-hate-comes-your-way-lesson-learned-by-the-greenspon-center/
