Students, parents, teachers and concerned citizens attended the Clinton School’s screening of “Not in Our Town: Light in the Darkness,” a new PBS film about community response towards hate crimes. The film focused on the town of Patchogue, N.Y, and its reoccurring hate crimes towards Hispanic immigrants. After the screening, a round-table discussion was held about the issues raised in the fim.
The film focused on the murder of 37-year-old Marcelo Lucero, who lived and worked in Patchogue and sent money home to his family in Ecuador. Seven high school boys attacked and killed him as he walked home from work one evening in 2008.
A key figure in the film was Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri, who dicussed his distress about the divide in the community. He said he realized that while it is safe for many people, many Latino residents are afraid to walk home at night. Lucero’s death “brought to light a pattern of crime against immigrants,” Pontieri said.
Community unity and action are highlighted in the film. Instead of dwelling on or perpetuating past mentalities, the village’s citizens decided to actively work against hatred and ignorance. Concerts, theater performances, t-shirt drives, inter-faith alliances, quilt making, law enforcement and legal actions came together to work towards understanding and fewer hate crimes.
“This is a clear situation in our community, it happens everywhere,” said Jesus Pizarro, a Little Rock resident who came to view and discuss the film. “These crimes are the root of an international problem,” he added.
Susan Ritchie enjoyed the film, observing the importance of mentoring public school children, This “isn’t a problem you can take care of in two or three years,” she said
Dr. Christina Standerfer and Clinton School students facilitated a discussion of the film with the audience. Topics concerning the film, community involvement and future actions were expanded upon and debated.
For more information about the film, visit www.niot.org.
This post was written by Clinton School student Maggie Carroll (’13).