It takes a community to eradicate hate
-
0:01 - 0:04Four years ago, something profound
happened in my life. -
0:04 - 0:08I saw the fear and mental effects
of racism, hate crimes and Islamaphobia -
0:08 - 0:09was having on my community.
-
0:10 - 0:12I'm an American Muslim
of Nigerian descent, -
0:12 - 0:13and growing up,
-
0:13 - 0:16my parents instilled in me
the importance of community -
0:16 - 0:17and serving others.
-
0:17 - 0:21My mom is fond of an African proverb
from my Yoruba tribe which states, -
0:21 - 0:24(In Yoruba) “Ènìyàn kan lon bímọ,
gbogbo ayé lon tọ́ ọmọ,” -
0:24 - 0:27which translated means, "a single
person gives birth to a child, -
0:28 - 0:30but every other person
looks after the child." -
0:30 - 0:32Now, the essence of this proverb is:
-
0:32 - 0:36even though a woman gives physical birth
to each particular child, -
0:36 - 0:38the whole community
plays an important role -
0:38 - 0:39in looking after all children.
-
0:40 - 0:43Growing up, it was not uncommon
for me to come home -
0:43 - 0:44and see my mom preparing a meal
-
0:44 - 0:46for what felt like
the entire neighborhood. -
0:46 - 0:49She routinely shared food
with people struggling. -
0:49 - 0:51And I recall one day
being angry as a teenager. -
0:51 - 0:53It was a hot day.
-
0:53 - 0:54I'd just completed doing errands.
-
0:54 - 0:57I was looking forward
to a nice home-cooked meal. -
0:57 - 0:59But when I came home,
there was little food left, -
0:59 - 1:01because it had gone
to the neighborhood kids again. -
1:01 - 1:03I was not happy.
-
1:03 - 1:04I just wanted to come home,
-
1:04 - 1:05eat my fill.
-
1:06 - 1:07My mom consoled me,
-
1:07 - 1:10and I settled for smaller portions
while she prepared another meal. -
1:11 - 1:13Now, I certainly did not
appreciate her that day -
1:13 - 1:16but later realized my mom
was providing a safe space -
1:16 - 1:18and food for people
in the community that needed it. -
1:18 - 1:21(In Yoruba) “Ènìyàn kan lon bímọ,
gbogbo ayé lon tọ́ ọmọ.” -
1:21 - 1:23She was looking after all the children.
-
1:24 - 1:27I came to the United States in 1999
-
1:27 - 1:31and attended the University of Wisconsin
in the city of La Crosse, -
1:31 - 1:34a beautiful city located
along the Mississippi River. -
1:34 - 1:36And La Crosse was lovely.
-
1:36 - 1:38I mean, despite the frigid,
subzero temperature -
1:38 - 1:40and lack of diversity,
-
1:40 - 1:42people were generally warm and caring.
-
1:42 - 1:44My biggest culture shock,
-
1:44 - 1:46despite the fact that I came
during the summer, -
1:46 - 1:49was seeing people sunbathing
and laying out on lawns. -
1:49 - 1:51It just didn't make any sense to me.
-
1:51 - 1:55Why would anyone choose to sunbathe
and bake your bodies in the hot sun? -
1:55 - 1:58In Nigeria, in Africa,
when the sun comes out, -
1:58 - 2:00you stay in the shade.
-
2:00 - 2:01But here it was just the opposite.
-
2:03 - 2:07When I was five years old,
something regrettable happened in Nigeria, -
2:07 - 2:09when the country's first
democratically elected president -
2:09 - 2:13required millions of undocumented
immigrants to leave the country. -
2:14 - 2:16And this response
was because of religious riots -
2:16 - 2:19that occurred in parts
of Northern Nigeria in the 1980s. -
2:20 - 2:21The sentiment shared by some
-
2:21 - 2:24was that it was caused
by undocumented immigrants, -
2:24 - 2:26but official sources later disputed that.
-
2:26 - 2:29Nevertheless, the army was activated
-
2:29 - 2:31and over 200 million people,
including children, -
2:31 - 2:33were sent packing.
-
2:33 - 2:37The United States government
strongly decried this action at that time. -
2:38 - 2:42I felt echoes of that history
the morning of September 11, 2001. -
2:42 - 2:46I knew immediately there was going to be
a strong backlash against Muslims, -
2:46 - 2:49despite reports that over 80 percent
of global terror-attack victims -
2:49 - 2:50are Muslims,
-
2:50 - 2:54and also because I had seen before
how when something incredibly bad happens, -
2:54 - 2:57the easiest thing to do
is to find easy targets to blame. -
2:57 - 3:01I felt deeply sad for everyone
that lost their life in the Twin Towers. -
3:01 - 3:02It was wrong.
-
3:03 - 3:06I also felt intensely angry
-
3:06 - 3:09that terrorists hadn't just hijacked
a plane full of innocent people -
3:09 - 3:11but also hijacked my religion.
-
3:11 - 3:14They turned my beautiful,
peaceful faith, Islam, -
3:14 - 3:17into something twisted and nasty
that I could not recognize. -
3:17 - 3:21And in turn, my adopted country
started to turn against one another. -
3:21 - 3:24The country felt like a powder keg
waiting to explode. -
3:25 - 3:26And indeed within days,
-
3:26 - 3:28there were increased
hate crimes against Muslims -
3:28 - 3:30or people that looked like Muslims.
-
3:31 - 3:34Hate crimes continued to rise
in the country many years after. -
3:35 - 3:36In 2012, for example,
-
3:36 - 3:39a Sikh temple in Wisconsin was attacked,
-
3:40 - 3:42and people were killed
because of their faith. -
3:43 - 3:45And the years later didn't get any better.
-
3:45 - 3:48Between 2015 and 2016,
-
3:48 - 3:51the increased number of hate crime
incidents against Muslims -
3:51 - 3:54actually surpassed the figures reported
during the year of the 9/11 attacks. -
3:55 - 3:56In my own household,
-
3:56 - 3:59the run-up to the 2016
presidential election -
3:59 - 4:03was when we felt the effects of increased
hateful racist and Islamophobic rhetoric -
4:03 - 4:04reaching closer to home.
-
4:06 - 4:08My wife and I tried
to shield our kids from the news, -
4:08 - 4:12but like noxious tear gas
ready all around us, -
4:12 - 4:13the ugly reality was closing in,
-
4:14 - 4:16and our kids were choking
on the fear and hate. -
4:17 - 4:19My 12-year-old son routinely
came home panicked -
4:19 - 4:21that his dad was going to be killed
-
4:21 - 4:23and that our family
was going to be deported -
4:24 - 4:25or put in internment camps.
-
4:25 - 4:27He thought being identified as a Muslim
-
4:27 - 4:29was a bad thing.
-
4:30 - 4:32My 13-year-old daughter
simply disconnected -
4:32 - 4:34and shut up completely.
-
4:35 - 4:37My wife also felt
the heightened sense of fear. -
4:39 - 4:42She focused her energy
on securing American passports -
4:42 - 4:43for the entire family.
-
4:45 - 4:47She didn't want her family
to go to mosque to pray -
4:47 - 4:51and also explored if it would be safer
for our family to go to Nigeria. -
4:52 - 4:54Our family was traumatized,
-
4:55 - 4:58and our fight-or-flight instincts
were in full effect. -
5:00 - 5:02For my part, I was pissed off
-
5:02 - 5:05that instead of being
our brother and sister's keeper, -
5:05 - 5:08my adopted country was being divided
by race and religion. -
5:10 - 5:13I wanted our local Muslim community
to do something to quell that hate, -
5:14 - 5:15but we were all dealing with trauma.
-
5:17 - 5:19The Yoruba proverb called to me:
-
5:19 - 5:22(In Yoruba) “Ènìyàn kan lon bímọ,
gbogbo ayé lon tọ́ ọmọ.” -
5:22 - 5:26I felt that our larger community
had an important role to play -
5:26 - 5:31in that if we connected with people,
and people got to really know who we were, -
5:31 - 5:33they would see that we were
part of the fabric of America -
5:33 - 5:35just like they were.
-
5:35 - 5:36I got word from a friend
-
5:36 - 5:39that a local interfaith group
was looking to build bridges with Muslims, -
5:39 - 5:42but they first needed Muslims
to be part of the group. -
5:43 - 5:45And I remember the first day
of our meeting: -
5:45 - 5:48Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at 7pm.
-
5:49 - 5:51There were 12 of us in attendance
-
5:52 - 5:54and consisted of eight Christians
and four Muslims, -
5:54 - 5:55including myself.
-
5:57 - 5:59We shared why were there,
-
5:59 - 6:02and we were all proud to be citizens
of this great country. -
6:02 - 6:05An American Muslim
who immigrated 39 years ago -
6:05 - 6:09shared that he was afraid
for his grandchildren's future. -
6:09 - 6:13Another Muslim who escaped
violent persecution from his home country -
6:13 - 6:16shared that we was afraid
for the first time in a long time, -
6:16 - 6:19afraid of what the future held
for Muslims and children. -
6:20 - 6:22I was afraid for my kids, too.
-
6:23 - 6:26I wanted to make sure our community
was a safe and thriving place for my kids -
6:26 - 6:28and everyone else.
-
6:28 - 6:31And I felt that most of my negative
experiences up until that point -
6:31 - 6:33were more about me
being Black than Muslim. -
6:33 - 6:36But I also felt negative microaggressions.
-
6:37 - 6:39I recall several years after 9/11,
-
6:39 - 6:41a colleague of mine mentioned
-
6:41 - 6:44that I could potentially be
a terrorist spy. -
6:44 - 6:47And whether this statement
was made in jest, conjecture -
6:47 - 6:49or just plain ignorance,
-
6:49 - 6:51the statement really hurt.
-
6:51 - 6:54It was also a side reminder
that some people are going to judge me -
6:54 - 6:57and see me as dangerous
without even knowing me. -
6:58 - 7:01Christians around the table
shared they were there to protect -
7:01 - 7:02and support us.
-
7:02 - 7:04And I've got to say, it was such a relief
-
7:04 - 7:08to be in the company of people that cared
and wanted to help. -
7:08 - 7:11We committed that day to stand
shoulder to shoulder with one another. -
7:12 - 7:14Our next meeting saw our group expand,
-
7:14 - 7:15and four others joined us,
-
7:15 - 7:19including members of the Jewish
and Buddhist faiths, and a student. -
7:19 - 7:21Our group was diverse and strong.
-
7:21 - 7:26We had people in their 20s,
30s, 40s, 50s, 70s -
7:26 - 7:29and a local social justice advocate
who was 95 years old -
7:29 - 7:32and not interested
in sitting on the sidelines. -
7:32 - 7:33A former missionary,
-
7:33 - 7:38this 95-year-old woman also experienced
injustice under apartheid South Africa, -
7:38 - 7:41and that experience made her
an activist and a feminist. -
7:41 - 7:44The La Crosse Interfaith
Shoulder to Shoulder Network was born, -
7:44 - 7:46and our focus was clear:
-
7:46 - 7:50ending anti-Muslim sentiment
and hatred towards any targeted group -
7:50 - 7:52as we stood shoulder to shoulder.
-
7:52 - 7:57In May 2016, the local Muslim community
issued a statement rejecting hate. -
7:58 - 8:00In January 2017,
-
8:00 - 8:03a presidential order banning immigrants
from seven mostly Muslim countries -
8:03 - 8:05was declared.
-
8:05 - 8:07This Muslim ban,
-
8:07 - 8:10which went into effect
on January 27, 2017, -
8:10 - 8:13created tremendous anger
in our community that needed an outlet. -
8:14 - 8:18A small group of us planned
and organized a community rally -
8:18 - 8:20and started to get the word out.
-
8:20 - 8:22We were regular folks,
-
8:22 - 8:23not community organizers.
-
8:23 - 8:26We'd never done anything like this before.
-
8:26 - 8:30We shared information on Facebook
with our neighbors and friends -
8:30 - 8:32and had no idea who would come,
-
8:32 - 8:34but also knew that it
was important to share -
8:34 - 8:36the powerful, simple idea
behind this action. -
8:36 - 8:39(In Yoruba) “Ènìyàn kan lon bímọ,
gbogbo ayé lon tọ́ ọmọ.” -
8:39 - 8:42We were standing up for each other
and each other's children. -
8:42 - 8:44And people showed up,
-
8:44 - 8:46young and old.
-
8:46 - 8:49It was extremely cold and below freezing,
-
8:49 - 8:51but that didn't stop people from coming.
-
8:51 - 8:54The community was responding
to our call for help. -
8:54 - 8:58Over 700 allies came
to the event that day. -
8:59 - 9:03A Jewish woman whose family
escaped religious persecution -
9:03 - 9:05in the Holocaust in Slovakia
-
9:05 - 9:07came to support us.
-
9:07 - 9:10We sparked something beautiful
in La Crosse that day. -
9:10 - 9:14We made compassion, equality
and justice everyone's business -
9:14 - 9:17and made it everyone's business
to stand shoulder to shoulder together -
9:17 - 9:18fighting fear and hate.
-
9:19 - 9:22For little La Crosse,
this was a very big crowd. -
9:22 - 9:24But perhaps even more importantly,
-
9:24 - 9:28it gave my family and others
an unending sense of support and comfort -
9:28 - 9:30that we were not alone
-
9:30 - 9:33and that more of our neighbors
and communities stood with us -
9:33 - 9:34than against us.
-
9:36 - 9:38The lessons I've learned
from these experiences are: -
9:38 - 9:40there are good people in every community,
-
9:40 - 9:43and your community will stand
shoulder to shoulder with you -
9:43 - 9:45if you make it your business.
-
9:45 - 9:48(In Yoruba) “Ènìyàn kan lon bímọ,
gbogbo ayé lon tọ́ ọmọ.” -
9:50 - 9:51When you really connect with a community
-
9:51 - 9:55and are vulnerable in your quest
for support and communion, -
9:55 - 9:57good people will come forth.
-
9:58 - 10:02And sometimes, all it takes
is one spark to set things in motion. -
10:03 - 10:05This year, hate crimes remain high,
-
10:05 - 10:09with latest FBI reports showing 70 percent
of those crimes being motivated by race, -
10:09 - 10:13ethnicity, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.
-
10:13 - 10:16And persistent discrimination,
including the death of George Floyd, -
10:16 - 10:19shows that we have
a lot of work to do in society. -
10:19 - 10:23I mean, this is not one person's,
group's or organization's problem -
10:23 - 10:24but all of our problems.
-
10:24 - 10:26We all have goodness in our hearts,
-
10:26 - 10:28so let's not sit on the sidelines.
-
10:29 - 10:32(In Yoruba) “Ènìyàn kan lon bímọ,
gbogbo ayé lon tọ́ ọmọ.” -
10:33 - 10:35All of our children deserve
protection and help. -
10:36 - 10:38And staying silent does not
make things better. -
10:38 - 10:41So let's make our community
and world a better place -
10:41 - 10:44by making standing up to
discrimination and hate -
10:44 - 10:45everyone's business.
- Title:
- It takes a community to eradicate hate
- Speaker:
- Wale Elegbede
- Description:
-
Standing up to discrimination and hate should be everyone's business, says community activist Wale Elegbede. In this vital talk, he shares how his community in La Crosse, Wisconsin came together to form an interfaith group in response to Islamophobia and racism -- and shows why a mentality of caring for your neighbors can make life better for everyone.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 10:59
marialadias edited English subtitles for It takes a community to eradicate hate | ||
Erin Gregory approved English subtitles for It takes a community to eradicate hate | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for It takes a community to eradicate hate | ||
Camille Martínez accepted English subtitles for It takes a community to eradicate hate | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for It takes a community to eradicate hate | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for It takes a community to eradicate hate | ||
Leslie Gauthier edited English subtitles for It takes a community to eradicate hate | ||
Leslie Gauthier edited English subtitles for It takes a community to eradicate hate |