Jewish Community Alliance, First Coast YMCA begins speaker series to promote unity against hate

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Together Against Hate: Promoting Unity In Our Community speaker series begins with a panel discussion on healing from hateful acts in Jacksonville.

Speakers from 904Ward, JASMYN, the Anti-defamation League (ADL), The Arc, LJD Jewish Family & Community Services, OneJax, and Interfaith Center, will empower our neighbors with the knowledge needed to have a voice in taking a stance against bias.

Tonight at 7 p.m., the LJD Jewish Family & Community Services center will host a community discussion on unity and types of hate that have occurred recently.

The panel is led by Hope McMath, curator of the Frisch Family Holocaust Memorial Gallery.

Included in tonight’s event is We Could Not Be Silent – a gallery exhibit that commemorates the remarkable act of solidarity and critical moment of civil rights history when a group of rabbis were jailed for supporting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a group of local black activists working to desegregate St. Augustine, Florida.

Timothy Johnson, Director of Teen and Family Initiatives at JASMYN, will lead a panel discussion and share information about LGBTQ+ rights and advocacy on Tuesday, October 10 at 7 p.m. at Friday Musicale on 645 Oak St. in Jacksonville.

On Tuesday, November 7 at 7 p.m. to discuss the rise of anti-Semitic sentiment and what is being done to initiate change.

Also addressing audiences at the Jewish Community Alliance that night will be Rabbi Diana Fersko, author of We Need to Talk About Antisemitism, who will share her exploration of why people are reluctant to discuss antisemitism and what empowers us to fight against it.

On Tuesday, December 5th, promoting and protecting the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, The Arc will host an evening of advocacy and education at 7 p.m. at the Jessie Ball duPont Center at 40 East Adams Street in downtown Jacksonville.

Local faith leaders with OneJax and the Interfaith Center of Northeast Florida will host a panel discussion at 7 pm on Thursday, January 18, 2024, in the Main Library in Downtown Jacksonville at 3030 N. Laura Street.

The month’s long speaker series will culminate with the first-ever Racing Against Hate 5k Run/Walk at the Winston Family YMCA on Sunday, February 25, 2024 at 1 p.m.

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