Who:

• Panelists: Be inclusive and invite people from a variety of backgrounds, professions and community groups. Suggestions include: educators, students, law enforcement, union members, religious leaders, human rights organizations, civic groups, elected officials and journalists.
• Moderator: Be sure your moderator is articulate and has knowledge of the subject. Consider news personalities, elected officials, educators or clergy to serve as moderators.
• Building the crowd: Again, the above organizations, or similar local counterparts should be called on to promote the event in their newsletter and/or phone-bank their membership to participate in the event. Make an effort to promote the screening by securing free advertising, calendar listings and articles in your local newspaper, the alternative paper and on radio. News calanders often require three weeks lead time.
• Press: Be sure to invite reporters to cover the screening so that your event reaches even more people than those who attend. A sample press release is included on this web site.

Where:

• Location: Good potential screening locations include your public television station, local theaters, university/college lecture halls, school auditoriums, churches and synagogues, union halls, and government buildings.

What:

• Screening and Discussion: The Not In Our Town documentaries always evoke strong reactions from audiences. You may refer to the Not In Our Town curriculum guide for suggestions on how to frame the discussion. At the forum, you may decide as a group to take action against hate activity in your community. If appropriate, have the participants pass a Not In Our Town proclamation about how they will work together to oppose hate violence, and release this proclamation to the media. Be prepared to channel people to local organizations already working against hate violence, such as the human rights commission, and have information about national anti-hate organizations available as an additional resource if people are inspired to carry on the work.
• Materials Available: Buttons with the Not In Our Town Logo are available at cost (50¢ each) - but supplies won't last long. Wearing these buttons makes a simple, yet powerful statement - and will definitely be a discussion starter. You can sell them for $1.00 to support your on-going efforts.
• Order the Videos: Not In Our Town and Not In Our Town II are excellent resources for classrooms, community groups and others dealing with local issues of hate and intolerance.