Chattanooga Council Against Hate
Chattanooga Council Against HateShelley Rose is Deputy Director with the Southeast Region Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which tracks trends in hate. In this position, she organizes community programming, provides educational outreach to community organizations, coordinates legislative advocacy and conducts workshops and presentations for parents and educators on religious intolerance, anti-bias training and cultural awareness. Shelley’s articles have been published in newspapers, magazines and journals and she has appeared on television and radio as a spokesperson for ADL.
Shelley also spoke at the inaugural meeting of Chattanooga’s Council Against Hate, an initiative spearheaded by Mayor Andy Berke. In an interview with Deborah Levine, Mayor Berke explained the background for doing this project
It was important to think of community togetherness and to make sure that no one got radicalized because of the incident. Hate is Everywhere. All kinds of different ideologies that permeate the hate eco-system. What they have in common is people who’ve gotten disaffected from society and are taken advantage of by groups that promote and encourage violence. The US State Department under [Secretary] John Kerry encouraged me to converse with mayors and leaders of cities across the globe dealing with similar issues through the Strong Cities Network. The initiative provides an international platform for discussing challenges and options. I am now on its Board of Directors. I hosted an event at the German Marshal Fund and have hosted members coming to Chattanooga from the Balkans and Eastern Europe.
Mayor Berke is now working with the U.S. Conference of Mayors to battle hate ad extremism in cities across the country. In his interview, Mayor Berke described his announcement of the Council Against Hate.
We see hate from national leaders, our schools, our computer screen and phones. We must begin by rejecting the idea that we powerless against hate. We can change how hate is spread and can create tools to do so. I announced the formation of a Council Against Hate at the State of the City address in April 2018 and proceeded to bring together diverse leaders to serve on the council. Individuals working together can workshop ideas and make them better. Coordination can speed those ideas, continue and replicate them.
Robyn LeBron is a member and contributor to 
Jim Woods is President of Woods Kovalova Group, a Diversity and Leadership Management consulting firm located in Denver. We believe that tackling big thorny challenges requires big unconventional ideas. We provide boundary-pushing proposals for changing the way organizations work and leaders lead.
