How can NH communities push back on hate activity?

A pair of events coming up this week aim to help people recognize and respond to a rise in hate group activity locally.

For the events, local police departments and community groups are teaming up with New Hampshire Listens, a civic engagement initiative of the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy, to talk to residents about what they can do to push back on hate in their communities.

The forums are in part a response to incidents seen this summer around the Seacoast, including the distribution of neo-Nazi recruitment flyers in several communities, as reported by Fosters Daily Democrat and other local media outlets.

“We just think, ‘Well, they're extremists and hopefully they'll stay on the margins,’” New Hampshire Listens Director Michele Holt-Shannon said. “But they've gotten more visible.”

The idea for the events, she said, originated with the police department and community organizers in Kittery, Maine, who were concerned about recent displays of hate in the area. She said area police departments are keeping an eye on that kind of activity — but often, it doesn’t violate any criminal laws.

The information sessions this week — one Monday evening in Kittery, and an online version Thursday — will focus on how community members can recognize hate groups and effective responses to their activities.

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Holt-Shannon said there are concrete steps people can take to counter things like white supremacist rallies.

“More so than a counter protest, just creating an alternative positive community event is more effective, and drawing a bigger crowd toward that kind of a space,” she said.

More information about the events is online at New Hampshire Listens’ website.

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