OCTOBER 21 • 2021 | 17

need to be held accountable, 
so contacting the Attorney 
General’s hate crime hotline 
or the Michigan Department 
of Civil Rights hotline is 
an important step to take 
if you witness a crime,” she 
said. The Attorney General’s 
Hate Crimes hotline is (313) 
456-0180 and the Michigan 
Department of Civil Rights 
discrimination hotline is 
(800) 482-3604.

BYSTANDERS’ ROLE
Chang acknowledged that as 
much as bystanders might 
want to intervene, there could 
be times when it isn’t safe 
to do so. She advises that 
people who want to be able 
to stand up against racism 
get bystander intervention 
training with an organization 
such as Hollaback (www.
ihollaback.org).
Shirley 
Stancato has 
always believed 
that racist 
behavior comes 
from a place 
of fear and 
mistrust and that 
communication 
between all people is key to 
combatting hate. For almost 
20 years, Stancato served as 
president and CEO of New 
Detroit Inc., Metro Detroit’s 
prestigious coalition devoted 
solely to race relations, which 
serves as an essential forum 
for discussion and advocacy 
for racial equity.
“We can’t lose sight of the 
fact that people have been 
working for racial justice for 
decades,” she says. “So, while 
the issues might feel new to 
some people, they are not 
new to others.” 
Stancato says that the 

Jewish and African American 
communities have worked 
together constructively on 
civil rights initiatives from 
the earliest days and that the 
collaboration against racism 
needed to continue, with 
conversations, such as those 
that will occur during the Fall 
Focus 2021 event, remaining 
important.
One of Lopatin’s roles, 
as leader of a major Jewish 
advocacy organization, is to 
meet with political leaders and 
the media to sensitize them 
to the issues of antisemitism 
and hate acts. “We urge 
legislation, but we also urge 
our politicians themselves to 
be aware of language that the 
Jewish community sees as 
antisemitic and painful,
” he 
explained. 
His organization forms 
coalitions and partnerships 
with different interfaith 
groups such as the Muslim 
community, the Hindu 
community, the African 
American community and 
the Chaldean community, to 
promote understanding and 
increase sensitivity to others. 
For the Jewish community, 
which so frequently feels 
under attack, Lopatin has a 
final message: “Please be a 
proud Jew and a proud lover 
of the only Jewish state in the 
world, Israel. Don’t let a fear 
of being harassed or being 
made fun of or even just 
not fitting in stop you from 
standing up for the things 
you value in life. The Jewish 
community needs Jews who 
are unafraid.”
To register for “Fall Focus 
2021 — Hate is Hate: We Are 
All at Risk. What Can We 
Do Together?” go to www.
ncjwmi.org. 

Shirley 
Stancato

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