Stephen Dow
Replicas of Ku Klux Klan fliers distributed in Billings in 1993 are among objects on display as part of the Not In Our Town exhibit, which opens at the Western Heritage Center on June 20.
A new display at the Western Heritage Center and a three-day “Not In Our Town National Leadership Gathering” are two ways Billings residents are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the town’s stand against prejudice and hate.
The National Leadership Gathering will take place on the weekend of June 20-22 in downtown Billings. On the Friday the 20th, the Western Heritage Center will unveil its NIOT display, which was created by a class of 22 West High students. It will be on display through Dec. 20.
Before looking at how the community will be celebrating this anniversary, it is perhaps useful to remember the events that took place late in 1993 and 1994. After all, a whole new generation has grown up without knowing the details of these events. And according to former Mayor Chuck Tooley, the head of the National Leadership Gathering’s steering community, even those who lived through the events may not remember all the details.
“So many people around the country only remember the menorah incident at the end of the year,” he said. “A lot of people don’t realize that there was a whole year of hate crimes that led up to that.”
Tooley said he first noticed the hate activity on Martin Luther King Day 1993. People who had just taken part in a multi-congregational celebration of King’s life returned to their cars to find fliers under their windshield wipers.
“On the front side, these fliers made accusations about African-Americans, Martin Luther King, Jews, homosexuals and our police chief Wayne Inman, of all people,” Tooley said. “On the opposite side, they were signed by ‘the knights of the Ku Klux Klan.’ ”
After that, there was an escalation of racist and homophobic incidents in Billings.
A pair of skinheads showed up at the predominantly African-American Wayman Chapel and unsettled congregants by glaring at them throughout the service.
Dawn Fasthorse, a young Native-American mother, awoke one morning to find that her house had been spraypainted with swastikas and anti-Native American statements like “Indians Suck.” A beer bottle was thrown through the storm door of Uri Barnea, a Jewish man who was then the conductor of the Billings Symphony Orchestra.
Then came the response to the hate.
Members of churches across the city attended Wayman Chapel during Sunday services to provide moral support and reassurance. The painters union heard what happened to Fasthorse’s house and more than 20 people came to repaint it for free. Barnea’s storm door was repaired.
The hate crimes came to a head during Hanukkah season, when a piece of cinder block was thrown through the window of young Isaac Schnitzer, who had placed a menorah in his window to celebrate the Jewish holiday.
“This was deeply disturbing to our community because it was an attack on the safety of a small child — which was unconscionable,” Tooley said. “So this event had a galvanizing effect on us.”
On Dec. 5, Margie MacDonald, the director of the Montana Association of Churches, passed out line drawings of menorahs to the members of many churches throughout the city. She asked them to place the drawings in their windows to show solidarity with the Schnitzer family. A few weeks later, the Billings Gazette printed a full-page picture of a menorah and asked their readers to do the same.
“Each of these hate crimes only firmed the resolve of the people of Billings,” Tooley said.
The actions of Billings citizens began to gain nationwide attention when ABC News came to report on the events. Shortly after that, California filmmaker Patrice O’Neill, of the nonprofit film company The Working Group, came to shoot a documentary for PBS.
Stephen Dow
A mural that is part of the Not In Our Town Exhibit communicates a message of tolerance and coexistence.
Tooley said one of the scenes in the documentary was footage of the Universal Athletics sign on 24th Street West that said, “No hate. No violence. Not in our Town.” When the documentary was being edited, he said, the filmmakers decided to use that slogan for the film’s title.
More documentaries about standing up to hateful actions across the country followed and The Working Group decided to create a nonprofit organization — also called “Not in Our Town” — that helps others find ways that they can fight hate in their own communities. It is this nonprofit organization that is sponsoring the National Leadership Gathering in Billings.
Members of the steering committee say the three-day event will serve two purposes. The first is to give participants ways to share their experiences and learn new methods to fight hate and violence with non-violent strategies. The second is to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Billings’ historic stand against hate crimes.
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock will be attending the opening reception on Friday evening. Ron Davis, the director of Community Oriented Policing Services at the Department of Justice, will play a major role in the gathering. O’Neill, the filmmaker, will also attend the gathering.
A pre-gathering is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 20 at Rocky Mountain College. There, educators will learn how to combat discrimination in their schools and classrooms.
The gathering will officially begin on at 6 p.m. that day with a reception at the Western Heritage Center. Music, food and drinks will be provided and guests will have the opportunity to look through the NIOT display.
Saturday and Sunday will feature a mixture of keynote speakers, breakout groups and panel discussions at the Northern Hotel.
Saturday at 7:30 p.m., the “We Remember” event will take place. It will include a screening of the original “Not in Our Town” film at the Babcock Theater. It will be followed by the Working Group’s newest film “Marshalltown.” After the screenings, a panel of key players from the events 20 years ago — including Fasthorse, MacDonald, Inman, Brian Schnitzer and Barnea — will take part in a question-and-answer session. The films and Q&A are free to the public.
The registration fee for the three-day event is $250, but Billings residents can attend for $100, or $50 for just the Saturday event.. To register, visit niot.org/gathering/2014.
Tooley is most excited about the “We Remember” event on Saturday night “because it provides an opportunity to look back and remember what happened 20 years ago.” He is also looking forward to the public unveiling of the NIOT exhibit at the Western Heritage Center.
Tooley hopes that all Billings residents can take the time to take in some of the events offered during the NIOT gathering “because it reminds us of who we are and what we can accomplish if we work together.”
As you walk into the Western Heritage Center’s NIOT display, you will be greeted by a video featuring West High junior Emily Haskell.
“We ask you to open your mind and journey into the past, into yourself, and out into the community today,” she says. “We ask you to reflect on your beliefs as we show you multiple perspectives of events from Billings’ past and begin to imagine the community we’ll create together.”
The West High project, known as the Community Storytelling Project, is a joint effort between School District 2, the Western Heritage Center, Montana PBS and the Billings Public Library. The goal of the project is to give West High students an understanding of Billings’ history as well as an introduction to technical skills like operating video cameras and conducting interviews.
There is a lot to see and read at the exhibit. Here’s a look at some of the displays.
The “Hate Speech” display discusses the rise of hate speech in Billings during 1992 and 1993. Windshield wipers are mounted on the wall. Visitors can pull replicas of Ku Klux Klan fliers from 1993 out from under the wipers. One has a picture of a Klan member and reads: “America for Whites. Africa for blacks. Ship those apes back to the trees. Ship those niggers back.”
The “Student Perspectives” display features written reflections from students about what they learned while working on the project. “This project has lifted a veil of ignorance that racism is dead,” one writes. “Discrimination has simply changed its forms.”
As you enter the second room in the exhibit, your attention is immediately drawn to the large spray-painted mural inspired by the graffiti on Dawn Fasthorse’s house. However, this mural communicates a message of peace and coexistence instead of hate and prejudice.
The main feature in the second room is a movie featuring the testimonies of multiple people who took part in the events that led to the creation of Not in Our Town.
Next to the video screen is a quote from American anthropologist Margaret Mead:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Stephen Dow is a student at Rocky Mountain College. He is working as an intern this summer for Last Best News and the Billings Outpost.
