This story, originally published on Nov. 30, 2023 at 1:49 p.m., was updated on Dec. 1, 2023 at 10:20 a.m., to correct that Aryani Ong, who presented on behalf of the AANHPI cohort, discussed public service announcements and addressing the language barrier, not Alex Vazquez, co-chair of the Latino cohort. It was also updated at 12:30 p.m. on Dec. 1, 2023 to correct the spelling of Ambereen Khan’s last name on second and third reference.
The county should make it easier for people to report hate incidents, ensure reports are taken seriously and enforce more training for school staff, law enforcement and county officials, according to recommendations submitted Tuesday from the Montgomery County Anti-Hate Task Force, led by County Council President Evan Glass (D-At-large).
Glass said at the meeting that there needs to be significant change to reduce hate incidents because “the status quo is unacceptable.”
Glass launched the county’s Anti-Hate Task Force earlier this year, which includes community and faith leaders in Montgomery County who developed recommendations to combat hate and make the county safer for everyone.
The cohorts are: Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, or AANHPI, Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic, LGBTQ+, Jewish and Muslim.
Since its first meeting on July 11, the task force has had nearly 50 public meetings, Glass said.
Glass said it is important to consider these changes because of how the number of hate incidents has increased in the county in recent years. According to a 2022 report from the Maryland State Police, the state had the highest number of hate incidents in 10 years.
Also, since Oct. 7, when the Israel-Hamas war began, antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents have skyrocketed.
In the week after the war started, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Maryland office received 46 calls for assistance, 21 of which were in Montgomery County, according to CAIR.
Also, Meredith Weisel, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League in Washington, D.C, said there was a 1,000% increase in non-specific threats against Jewish people and Israelis throughout the U.S. that week too.
Weisel, co-chair of the Jewish cohort and regional director for the Anti-Defamation League in Washington D.C., said at the Tuesday meeting that increasing community awareness about the history of antisemitism is crucial.
“[We should be] looking at understanding the Holocaust as a chapter in the book on antisemitism, meaning that it is one of the most egregious chapters, but that is not the only way that we have seen antisemitism,” Weisel said.
During her presentation, Weisel reviewed the definition of antisemitism and said it is important for people to know that anything that “delegitimizes, demonizes or applies a double standard to Israel” is antisemitic.
Ambereen Khan, who presented on behalf of the Muslim Cohort, said this definition is “controversial,” and that it is harmful for the Muslim and Arab communities sharing their views on the Israel-Hamas war.
“The emergency we have is that the definition of antisemitism has become weaponized,” Khan said. “It is being used to silence. It is being used to scare. It is being used to intimidate political speech.”
Khan is calling for a community summit for civic leaders and others to “state unequivocally an affirmation for our first amendment right as a fundamental cornerstone of our democracy.”
In addition to the Jewish and Muslim cohorts, other cohorts presented their recommendations on how to make the county safer for everyone.
Specifically, representatives from every cohort explained that hate incidents are underreported because people either do not know how or where to submit reports or their reports are not taken seriously and addressed.
Aryani Ong, who presented on behalf of the AANHPI cohort, said many members of her community do not know where to report hate incidents. Her cohort has proposed putting out public service announcements, or PSAs, at public and private sites, including workplaces.
She also said that the language barrier is a large factor that leads to underreporting for many people.
“The PSAs will be translated and list a reporting hotline that will be staffed by people who are trained in culture proficient services related to mental health crisis management and social services for case management, who are multilingual,” Ong said.
Also, Ron Wright, co-chair of the Black/African American cohort, criticized the county police department for not fully and accurately reporting hate bias incidents to the appropriate parties.
He said the justice department needs to “hold police accountable for failing to comply with the hate/bias reporting requirement.”
Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said the police department will make sure they don’t miss any hate incidents and will not determine among themselves whether something should be reported or not.
“We are committed to making sure that light is shining on any missed behavior of individuals in our community,” Jones said. “We will not be the ones who will be the judge of those who feel that they have been discriminated against or harassed. …That is not our call to make.”
Then, representatives from each community also discussed the need for more cultural competency training.
Phillip Alexander Downie, co-chair of the LGBTQ+ cohort, said that MCPS staff need to be trained on how to make all students, regardless of their identities, feel safe at school.
“We recommend expanded professional development days by 30% to provide culturally competent and community-derived professional development for school staff to ensure they have the tools to create inclusive environments in their classrooms,” Downie said.
Then, Ong said the county should monitor, advise, and fund MCPS to fully implement its new anti-racism action plan, which would include providing “cultural competency and hate bias training to increase an understanding of AANHPI needs and anti-Asian hate bias.”
She said that the County Council’s Education and Culture Committee should oversee the anti-racism plan so that it is “fair, equitable and consistent across the board.”
“As chair of the Education and Culture committee, I know many of your recommendations related to MCPS,” County Councilmember Will Jawando (D-at-large) said. “Our committee will take on these recommendations in a serious way and work with both the board and the [school] system.”
Glass said that all the task force’s recommendations will be brought to the full County Council during Tuesday’s meeting next week where all the members can discuss it and decide what action should be taken.
“Know that this is not the end of the conversation,” Glass said. “[Pledging] to continue this conversation, to go to the hard places where they have to be had, is the only way that we’re going to make Montgomery County safer.”
