12th Annual Human Rights Film Series Resource Page
In 2008, a series of racially motivated attacks against Hispanic residents of Patchogue, New York culminated in the
murder of Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadorian immigrant who had lived in the Long Island village for 13 years. The
attack and killing of Marcello Lucero, unfortunately, is not an isolated case. Reports strongly suggest a significant
upswing over the past decade in racially motivated violence against all Latinos, regardless of immigration status.
According to hate crime statistics published by the FBI, anti-Hispanic hate crimes rose by almost 35% between
2003 and 2006. The prevalence of anti-Hispanic hate crimes remained high in 2009—the latest year for which FBI
statistics are available—revealing that hate crimes motivated by the offender’s bias toward a particular ethnicity
or national origin were directed at 1,109 victims, 62.4% of whom were targeted because they were Hispanic.
What makes these statistics even more disturbing is that they fail to account for the many unreported incidences
of anti-Hispanic hate crimes in the U.S. each year.
Many communities across the country, however, are unwilling to tolerate intolerance, and last spring their cause
got a major boost when an organization called Not in Our Town launched Niot.org, a website that provides
ordinary citizens with tools to combat hate in their communities. Not in Our Town highlights communities
working together to stop hate and uses videos and podcasts to highlight and celebrate people who have
developed creative anti-bias programs and responses. These stories have motivated many others to develop their
own innovative initiatives which overpower hateful actions and voices in their communities. Nearly 50 Not in Our
Town groups are currently operating across the country. Not in Our Town: A Light in the Darkness tells the story
of one such community—the town of Patchogue, New York—as it mobilized to take action to promote safety and
inclusion after the devastating death of Marcelo Lucero.
Additional Resources:
Film Website- http://www.niot.org/LightInTheDarkness
Not in Our Town Website - http://www.niot.org/
Southern Poverty Law Center Website - http://www.splcenter.org/
National Council of La Raza Website - http://www.nclr.org/
Center for Preventing Hate Website - http://www.preventinghate.org/
Anti-Defamation League Website - http://www.adl.org/civil_rights/immigration.asp
Human Rights First Website - http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/our-work/fighting-discrimination
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, Confronting the New Faces of Hate Report http://www.civilrights.org/publications/hatecrimes/