"Hate crimes and social tensions are on the rise in the U.S., exacerbated by the rhetoric of the 2016 elections. The Southern Poverty Law Center has catalogued 1053 instances of post-election hate crimes nationally (as of late February 2017). While many are stepping up their civil rights advocacy and activism in response, what individual actions can we take to recognize, document, and reduce hate crime and harassment in our communities?

Participants in this 2-hour interactive workshop will learn to identify, intervene and de-escalate potentially hostile situations before they turn violent, applying simple but effective tactics rooted in principles of non-violence. Using methods taught by the Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition, including interactive lecture, discussion and a series of role-play scenarios, participants will learn and practice non-violent de-escalation tactics with immediate and broad applicability in our troubled times.

The workshop will be co-facilitated by Stacy Small-Lorenz, PhD, and Marie Smith, JD, MEd, co-organizers of the Women’s March on Washington-Maryland Chapter. Stacy is an ecologist specializing in climate change adaptation and resilience at The National Wildlife Federation. Marie is a litigation attorney who also directs a high school and college career mentoring program and teaches high school dating violence prevention workshops."