By Jill Sojourner, news correspondent
Masses of people filled the Arlington Street Church basement both Monday and Wednesday evenings to obtain the skills necessary to advocate against Islamophobia and other forms of intolerance in workshops organized by Jewish Voice for Peace Boston (JVP).
The first workshop, titled “Ready to Fight: Civil Disobedience Training” was facilitated by Terry Marshall, founder and strategy architect of Intelligent Mischief, a socially focused design lab.
The main point of conversation throughout the evening was President Donald J. Trump’s proposals to implement a Muslim registry in the U.S. and its potential negative implications on Muslim Americans.
The event began with an introduction by JVP Boston’s Organizer, Liza Behrendt, who emphasized the prevalence of Islamophobia within modern society.
“Trump’s election and subsequent inauguration [have] brought on a renewed level of urgency in standing up to Islamophobia,” said Behrendt. “[Since 9/11] We’ve seen a real […] growth of Islamophobia in order to create a sense of fear of Muslims and make the public feel like we have to fight Muslims as some other.”
The workshop’s purpose was to equip individuals with the knowledge necessary to engage in activism against the proposed registry and Islamophobia at large. Marshall emphasized effective activism rather than efforts that give the activist personal fulfillment without actually creating meaningful change.
“You will not be feel-good activists. You will be smart, strategic, creative-thinking, action-oriented folks who want to change the world,” said Marshall.
Attendees engaged in a group narrative-style activity called “Battle of the Story,” a creative and engaging approach to grassroots activism that required participants to examine the issue of the proposed registry from the perspectives of both opponents as well as proponents, creating a unique story for each party. The activity encouraged a holistic view of the issue, examining, the imagery, victims, conflicts and assumptions associated with the problem itself in order to ultimately propose resolutions to the issue at hand.
The resolutions proposed by the groups included fighting stereotypes through education, boycotting companies that support Trump and promoting inclusivity.
A common interest among workshop participants was advocacy for marginalized groups including Muslim-Americans.
“I’m very upset about the current administration and its spoken commitment to target Muslims and anybody who does not meet their specific requirements to be American. I want to learn how to protect others and be involved in whatever actions I can to help mitigate what I expect to be the current assaults and disruptions in people’s lives,” said Susan Etscovitz, a Brookline resident.
“I think for me as a white woman with a lot of privilege [my concerns] center around the voices that have been marginalized in this city historically, especially people of color,” said Morgan Cowie-Haskell, a Roslindale resident.
The second JVP-sponsored workshop, titled “A Call to Action: Becoming Active Bystanders” was facilitated by the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) and aimed to provide attendees with the knowledge and strategies necessary to intervene in instances of potential Islamophobia-related harassment or violence.
BARCC facilitators encouraged attendees to brainstorm the reasons as to why bystanders often fail to intervene, which included fear of further escalating the conflict, concern for personal safety, inconvenience and embarrassment.
Participants worked in groups to apply the “Five D’s”—direct, distract, delegate, delay and dedicate—to three different hypothetical scenarios.
According to Ashley Slay, BARCC’s community engagement specialist, challenging our societal attitudes toward intervention is critical in empowering individuals to stand up.
“People are generally penalized for standing up when a situation is happening,” Slay said. “If we all create a culture where we celebrate the people who are standing up versus knocking them down, I think you’d probably see a lot more people intervening.”
Photo by Jake Wang
