Billings, Montana, is known as the "Not In Our Town" town based a 1994 citizen response to efforts of white supremacists to establish a foothold, a response which garnered worldwide approval and put Billings on the map of human rights protagonists, but recent reluctance of the city council to support the 20th anniversary celebration of the event as well as a brewing contentious fight about whether to approve a non-discrimination ordinance has put Billings' position as some kind of hero town in serious question.
The events of 1993-1994 are described by Chuck Tooley, former Billings mayor, on his website, www.chucktooley.com
"It started with the Ku Klux Klan distributing flyers in January. Over the next several months, Skinheads invaded (appeared during services in) an African American church, homosexuals and Jews were singled out for harassment, Swastikas and threats were spray-painted on the home of a Native American family and a Jewish cemetery was desecrated. In December, a piece of cinder block was thrown at the bedroom window of a young Jewish boy who had placed a menorah there to celebrate Hanukkah."
The response of Billings residents included a march, Billings citizens worshipping along side the small African Methodist Episcopal congregation, civic groups helping paint over swastikas, and famously, the widespread distribution and display of menorahs is residents' windows. As described by Margie McDonald in a recent Billings Gazette editorial, the planned response was:
"Whoever they targeted would be surrounded by the support of the wider community."
Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/...
Billings was elevated to a human rights superstar because of this response and became the nidus of a movement and an organization called "Not In Our Town," that provides support and materials for citizens wanting to respond to hate in their communities, including a subsection called, "Not In Our School." They are planning a 20th anniversary celebration in Billings, MT, June 20-22.
Hoping to solicit a $25,000 grant from the Billings City Council for part of the costs, former Mayor Chuck Tooley gave a powerful presentation to the council of the history and value of the Not In Our Town movement. Coinciding with but separate from this request was a proposal that Billings pass a non-discrimination ordinance to extend civil rights protection with respect to housing, employment and public accommodations to LGBT's. This kind of ordinance has been rejected by the Montana legislature but has been adopted by the Montana towns of Missoula, Helena and Butte.
Unfortunately a cadre of evangelical pastors and others got up to speak after former Mayor Tooley, urging the council to reject the request and saying that Not In Our Town is not what it was, that it has been "coopted by the gay agenda." This is not true. NIOT was against gay hate right from the beginning. But they outnumbered those who spoke in favor. One pastor spoke of his fear that he would be forced to officiate at gay marriages. One speaker after another said they were against hate but implied that that was still consistent with discriminating against gays. Current Mayor Tom Hanel (the "plowing of residential streets is not in Montana's character" mayor) says that he received many calls on this grant request, most of them opposed. Not In Our Town has withdrawn their request, expressing that it was not their intention to cause such strife.
As Billings columnist and author Ed Kemmick wrote on www.lastbestnews.com Mar 22, "The revisionists can't change the history of hate or Billings' response." And the gay agenda is nothing more than "Security, dignity, fairness, equality, opportunity.” The anniversary event of Not In Our Town will go forward with or without the council's blessing and seek other sources of funding. And the proposed ordinance will also come formally before the council in the near future. It's true this is a red part of a red state. But Not In Our Town was born there. Hopefully there will be a better response of the community to its own city leaders who should realize the link between discrimination and hate is stronger than they think. And to think this is all transpiring the next state over from that lonely wire fence where Mathhew Shepard lost his life.