Pittsburghers unite to combat hate
Hate "leads to a dark, desolate place that destroys individuals who permit themselves to be taken over by" it, Gaynor said.
Beneath a noonday sun, the Rev. Liddy Barlow told a crowd gathered in the crisp autumn air at the City-County Building downtown that “Pittsburgh rejects all forms of hate and bias.”
The pronouncement came during an Oct. 19 news conference held in recognition of United Against Hate Week, which took place nationally Oct 15-25.
“We believe all our neighbors deserve to live with a sense of value and dignity in their daily lives, to feel secure from targeted acts of violence and discriminatory language and to be seen without fear or favor,” said Barlow, executive minister at Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania.
The event was organized by Stand for All Pittsburgh, a hate and bias prevention alliance, and, in addition to Barlow, included: Maggie Feinstein, executive director of the 10.27 Healing Partnership; Martin Gaynor, Pittsburgh synagogue shooting survivor; David Knoll, associate vice president of public affairs at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh; Chris Soult, senior investigator with the City of Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations; Zoe Correale from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work’s Center on Race and Social Problems; Sister Janice Vanderneck, founder of Casa San Jose; Erika Strassburger, Pittsburgh City Council member; and Sara Innamorato, Allegheny County executive.
Gaynor told the crowd that he knew firsthand where hate leads.
“It leads to a dark, desolate place that destroys individuals who permit themselves to be taken over by hate, destroys the people around them, destroys our communities and destroys our nation,” he said.
He noted that in the days following the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, the community united. Now, he said, hate threatens to tear people apart.
“We cannot and will not allow that to happen here in Pittsburgh,” he said. “We fight hate by spreading love. That’s why we are here today.”
Casa San Jose’s Vanderneck echoed Gaynor’s call to counter hateful and biased rhetoric, and stressed that, for the immigrant community she serves, “we need to express welcome.”
“Remember that most of our faith traditions call on us to remember that we were exiled in a land not our own,” she said.
Innamorato spoke to the ways in which the community can combat hate.
“It requires us to stand up for one another,” she said. “It means creating spaces where people from different backgrounds can come together, learn from one another and build relationships across differences. It means supporting organizations that help people respond to hate and bias.”
Innamorato said the All In Allegheny Action Plan — which includes 91 steps to deliver on community priorities — is “rooted” in the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to thrive.
“That means working towards communities where people aren’t just present, but they are genuinely welcomed. Where differences are respected and where everyone can participate fully in civic life without fear or harassments,” she said.
Strassburger, who represents Pittsburgh’s District 8, which includes Squirrel Hill, said that hate “has a way of creeping into our communities.”
She urged people to break down silos and gather with those of different backgrounds.
“There’s so many ways that we can build community while doing good things in the community,” she said. “There are big forces that we’re working against. There are big forces in our country and world that benefit monetarily by spreading hate.”
She said combating those forces begins with conversations across differences and participation in initiatives such as United Against Hate Week.
Barlow’s co-steering committee member Feinstein, of the 10.27 Healing Partnership, said that those representing Stand for All Pittsburgh and United Against Hate were a coalition.
“It’s a remarkable opportunity,” she said. “There’s not one of us that is responsible for the change, every single one of us has the power.”
She urged those in attendance to join the initiative and to continue to combat hate after the week is over.
“This is an opportunity to remember our shared humanity,” she said. PJC
David Rullo can be reached at drullo@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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