By Camille Taylor
A homeless person …a gang member…a terrorist.
What images popped into your mind? Did you see a person of a particular race, gender, or age? If so, why did you get that particular image?
A stereotype is an idea about a thing or group that may be untrue or only partly true. It’s a judgment based on one or two pieces of information that don’t tell the whole story. They are often shared by many people such as “Politicians are dishonest”or “Rich people are snobs.” The problem with the stereotype paintbrush is you start to believe these untruths or partial truths without taking the time to get to know the individuals behind them.
Not In Our Town is a movement that has been active for about 20 years in our community. The vision of Not In Our Town is to eliminate hate, address bullying, and to make a safe, inclusive community. In order to do that, we know that there is no room for believing stereotypes which often leads to prejudice, discrimination, and hatred.
Last week, members of Not In Our Town mobilized when a sign that perpetuated a stereotype was displayed outside a local business. I was involved in a demonstration on the street outside the business and tried talking to the owner about why the sign was offensive.
Unfortunately, the media headlines published “angry protestors” and “free speech” as the main focus. We were not angry, just full of conviction, and freedom of speech was never the issue. The issue was and always has been to make Bloomington/Normal a community where all people can live without fear of being stereotyped, discriminated against, or feel prejudice.
Last week I also spoke to about 25 young people at the McLean County Diversity Project Scholars’ Retreat at East Bay Camp. I shared the history and vision of Not In Our Town as well as why stereotypes, discrimination, and prejudice hurt people. These young people gave me hope, because they wanted to understand and to learn. We had a good exchange of ideas and several hope to get involved with efforts to make their schools more inclusive and safer from bullying next year.
After talking to the scholars of the McLean County Diversity Project I would say our community’s future is in good hands, because these young people share that vision of hope.
Camille Taylor, a retired Counselor from Normal Community High School, has been an educator in this community for 34 years. She is active in the community currently serving as a church elder and board member for both the Baby Fold and the YWCA. She has been recognized by the YWCA as a Woman of Distinction for education, a Martin Luther King Jr. award winner for the City of Bloomington, a Distinguished Alumni by the College of Education at Illinois State University, a Human and Civil Rights award winner for the Illinois Education Association, and the H.Councill Trenholm Award recipient from the National Education Association for her work with diversity. She lives in Bloomington with her husband, Arthur, and is a mother and grandmother.
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