As America observes the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I question how far we've come in relation to teaching tolerance to our youth. How do we teach them to value each other? What can we do to encourage them to appreciate diversity? While America has made great strides since the Civil Rights Movement, there's still much progress to be made. The research on Hate Crimes illustrates that we still need to teach our youth to accept and appreciate people who are different from us. To get a better
understanding of how intolerance can effect human behavior let's first explore hate crimes.
What is a Hate Crime?
A hate crime is a crime intended to hurt and intimidate someone because of their:
• race
• ethnicity
• national origin
• religion
• gender
• sexual orientation
• disability
Facts on Hate Crimes
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center,
Every hour...
Someone commits a hate crime
Every day...
At least eight black people, three white people, three gay people, three Jewish people, and one Latino person become hate crime victims
Every week...
A cross is burned
Source:
http://www.splcenter.org/
According to Partners Against Hate,
33% of all known hate crime offenders are under the age of 18
29% of all hate crime offenders are between the ages of 18-24
30% of all victims of bias-motivated aggravated assaults are under the age of 18
Source:
http://www.partnersagainsthate.org/
What Can You Do As A Parent?
1. Examine and explore your own bias. Are you personally guilty of stereotyping and discriminating?
2. Help your teen examine and explore their bias.
3. Speak openly and honestly with your teen about bias, discrimination, and stereotypes. Ask him if he's ever been singled out for something because of his differences? Share a time when you were excluded because of a difference. Discuss how it made you feel.
4. Make a pledge to promote and encourage tolerance. Along with your teen, make a deal to accept others and fight your personal bias, stereotypes, and prejudices.
5. Teach tolerance and acceptance.
6. Point out bias and intolerance in the media and discuss it with your teen.
7. Attend Diversity and International Fairs.
8. Along with your teen, get involved in projects that foster diversity in the community.
9. If you catch your teen condemning another person because of their indifferences, bring it to their attention.
10. Live by example, your teen is watching and listening to you.
Our teens have a lot that they can contribute to the greater good and equality of all mankind. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream of tolerance and equality. He followed his dream to his death, so that others could be accepted. We can continue his dream by teaching our youth the messages that he spoke so eloquently during his speech Aug. 28, 1963.
Other Sources:
http://www.ncpc.org/topics/hate-crime/tolerance
Check out the Southern Law Poverty's Center - Hate Map. This map shows the documented Hate Groups throughout each state of the US. How many are in your state? http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/hate-map
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - Dream Speech: http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/dr-martin-luther-king-jr/8213b15d29d09848338c8213b15d29d09848338c-410909081917?q=dr+martin+luther+king+jr&FORM=VIRE7
