LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 14: People gather at Raymond J. Fisher Middle School during the Los Gatos United Against Hate Walk in Los Gatos, Calif., on Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
A handful of Los Gatos community organizations are hosting events to celebrate United Against Hate week, a national movement to stop hate and implicit biases in communities across the United States.
This year’s events come after last year’s large rally that drew more than 3,000 residents to march through the streets, and include a movie screening, art contest and one-year anniversary event at the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center.
Los Gatos-based organization AWO, a social justice nonprofit, is hosting a screening of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” on Nov. 12 and a conversation circle event with readings from “A Raisin in the Sun” on Nov. 13.
“The more we come together to honestly, truthfully have dialogue around these issues, the better for us to really get the real work going and really affect change systematically. We have to have these conversations,” AWO founder Folake Phillips said.
The movie screening will take place at the CineLux Theater in Campbell, and there will be vendors, traditional African drumming and face painting.
After the readings from” A Raisin in the Sun,” there will be an interactive talkback sessions where participants can discuss issues like racism, discrimination, housing and more.
The Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce is inviting residents to participate in a town-wide campaign by filling out forms that begin with the phrase, “I stand united against hate because…”
Completed forms will be posted in public locations and shared with the community. Addison Penzack Jewish Community Center, Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce, Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company, Los Gatos High School, Los Gatos Library and We Olive will have forms available.
The week will finish off with a one-year anniversary event at the Addison Penzak Jewish Community Center at 14855 Oka Road, on Nov. 14, 6:30-8:30 p.m. The JCC will unveil the “Childhood Left at the Station” exhibit on loan from the Holocaust Museum LA.
There will be speakers and a short opening ceremony featuring “other communities impacted by genocide and coordinated campaigns of hate,” the event listing reads. There will also be a guided art project where participants can create a decorative sign.
The Chamber is also holding an art contest to refresh the “Listen.Learn.Change.Grow” campaign banners around town.
The Chamber’s board of directors will select up to five artworks to present to the Los Gatos Town Council for approval and make into street pole banners to hang around town starting in spring 2023.
Submissions are due Nov. 21 by 3 p.m. at the chamber office located at 10 Station Way or via email at chamber@losgatoschamber.com.
Last year, Los Gatos City Council was verbally harassed by a far-right group that criticized the council’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and critical race theory. Then-Mayor Marico Sayoc and her family became the target of some of the vitriol, which included anti-LGBTQ comments.
There was also anti-Semitic graffiti left at the Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center in Los Gatos during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
These events served as a call to action for the town to speak out against the hate.
Schedule of events
Nov. 13-19: “I stand united against hate because…” forms available
Nov. 12, noon-6:30 p.m.: AWO Pre-screening Movie Party — “Wakanda Forever” at CineLux Theatre in Campbell
Nov. 13, 3-5 p.m.: AWO presents “A Raisin in the Sun” at 15980 Blossom Hill Road
Nov. 14, 6:30-8:30 p.m.: One-Year Anniversary of the Los Gatos United Against Hate March, Addison Penzak JCC
Nov. 19, 7-9 p.m.: Tony Lindsay & Friends — celebrating the sounds of a community united. Tickets are $20 at 408-354-3263.
For more information, visit www.losgatoschamber.com/lg-against-hate.
Originally published at Hannah Kanik