2024 Youth Unity Summit 113
Nearly 400 students from more than 20 Wisconsin high schools gathered Wednesday, February 28 at McFarland High School for the inaugural Youth Unity Summit, to learn about and develop strategies for combating hate and hate-motivated violence in their schools. The theme of the summit is Unity Through Engagement.
The summit is sponsored by We Are Many-United Against Hate (WAM-UAH) and Wisconsin Humanities, and facilitated by WAM-UAH's student ambassadors. Students viewed the 2023 Oscar-nominated documentary Stranger at the Gate, followed by a discussion with the film's title subject, Richard "Mac" McKinney, a Marine and Army veteran who had planned to bomb a mosque in Indiana, but ended up becoming a Muslim and serving as president of the mosque. The discussion also included Chris Buckley, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, whose hatred of Muslims led him to a leadership role in the Georgia White Knights of the KKK. McKinney and Buckley talked about their personal transformations away from hate.
Students also participated in training on how to confront hate and collaborate on developing strategies to bring back to their schools and communities.
Images by Kerry G. Hill, 2024. © All rights reserved. Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.
2024 Youth Unity Summit 113
Nearly 400 students from more than 20 Wisconsin high schools gathered Wednesday, February 28 at McFarland High School for the inaugural Youth Unity Summit, to learn about and develop strategies for combating hate and hate-motivated violence in their schools. The theme of the summit is Unity Through Engagement.
The summit is sponsored by We Are Many-United Against Hate (WAM-UAH) and Wisconsin Humanities, and facilitated by WAM-UAH's student ambassadors. Students viewed the 2023 Oscar-nominated documentary Stranger at the Gate, followed by a discussion with the film's title subject, Richard "Mac" McKinney, a Marine and Army veteran who had planned to bomb a mosque in Indiana, but ended up becoming a Muslim and serving as president of the mosque. The discussion also included Chris Buckley, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, whose hatred of Muslims led him to a leadership role in the Georgia White Knights of the KKK. McKinney and Buckley talked about their personal transformations away from hate.
Students also participated in training on how to confront hate and collaborate on developing strategies to bring back to their schools and communities.
Images by Kerry G. Hill, 2024. © All rights reserved. Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.