Swampscott renews No Place for Hate commitment

SWAMPSCOTT-The town was recently recognized as a 2008 “No Place For Hate” community by the Anti-Defamation League.Resident Jessica O’Gorman, who is a member of the ad hoc Respect for Human Differences Task Force in town, said cyber-bullying, anti-Semitic graffiti and a general atmosphere of intolerance in town were the impetus to strive for the ADL No Place for Hate designation.As part of the No Place for Hate Community Network Conference, which was held in Boston last month, representatives from Swampscott took part in anti-bias training workshops.O’Gorman said the group raised $1,400 at a Jump-A-Thon on May 14 and held a “Walk For Respect” on June 8. O’Gorman said the two events qualified the town as a No Place for Hate community. She said the ADL designation allows the town to apply for a matching grant of up to $1,000 for anti-bias educational programs and it allows access to other resources through the ADL.O’Gorman said if the town receives the grant the money would be used to hold “tolerance events” in town.The No Place for Hate program was created in 1999 by the Anti-Defamation League New England Region, in partnership with the Massachusetts Municipal Association, to provide communities with a solid framework for promoting an inclusive environment while fighting all forms of hate and bigotry.Several North Shore communities including Marblehead are already designated as “No Place for Hate” communities.O’Gorman said the town received a banner that reads “Fighting Hate, Building Respect?. Our Community is No Place for Hate,” which would be displayed at various locations in town throughout the year.This is not the first time Swampscott has been designated as a “No Place For Hate” community. Former Selectman Carole Shutzer led the charge in Swampscott a few years ago and the town received the “No Place for Hate” designation but the status must be renewed each year through the ADL and it was allowed to lapse.While Swampscott was working to regain its designation as “No Place For Hate” some other communities denounced the ADL and relinquished the designation claiming the ADL refused to recognize the Armenian Genocide. The ADL issued a formal statement in August 2007, which acknowledged the Ottoman Empire’s 1915 to 1923 massacres of 1.5 million Armenians was “tantamount to genocide.” But in using the word “tantamount” several communities, including Peabody, said the position taken by the ADL was too ambiguous.The city of Peabody disassociated from the ADL in 2008 and Mayor Michael Bonfanti announced the city would not be involved with the ADL because it did not recognize the Armenian Genocide as a historical fact.