Participants in the 2019 Walk Against Hate (courtesy ADL)
The Anti-Defamation League asks the LGBTQ community to walk with them to oppose hate
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com
Founded 110 years ago to oppose anti-Semitism, the Anti-Defamation League tracks hate crimes and works to fulfill one of its founder’s visions — that those who seemed different are not targets of discrimination and threats but are seen as equals.
In support of the LGBTQ community, the ADL filed an amicus brief in the Obergefell marriage equality case and has spoken out strongly against LGBTQ oppression in Russia and other countries around the world. And in Texas, ADL representatives have testified before the Legislature on the state’s anti-bullying law and against anti-transgender legislation.
On Sunday, April 3, ADL’s Dallas office holds its Walk Against Hate at the American Airlines Center. Registration and T-shirt pick-up begins at 8 a.m. Parking in the arena’s high-rise parking garage is free but closes at 8:45 a.m. The one- or two-mile walk steps off at 9:30 a.m.
Human Rights Campaign joins other community organizations — including Latino Voter Empowerment Coalition and March to the Polls, the League of Women Voters, Paul Quinn College and more — for an expo at the walk.
Speakers will include Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia, outgoing DISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa and Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynthia Marshall.
The walk honors Heroes Against Hate who will serve as grand marshals for the walk and whose names haven’t been announced yet.
According to ADL Vice President Cheryl Drazin, hate is on the increase, including in categories not seen since World War II. She said hate against Asians and Pacific Islanders is on the rise as a result of the pandemic. To track that rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, the Asian/Pacific Islander community has organized, but ADL supplied the newly-formed groups with the tracking tools needed to document the crisis.
Walk Co-Chair Alex Horn said she believes hate is on the rise because the pandemic has made us feel separated for the past two years. “The walk is an act of solidarity,” she added.
Susie Carp, co-chairing with Horn, said the walk gives people the opportunity to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other people in what, for many, will be the first time in two years.
“The ADL is all about standing up,” Carp said,“standing up against hate, against bullying.”
That’s a program Carp said she stands behind. The ADL “works with schools to teach kindness and stand up against bullying.”
After helping to craft and push the Texas anti-bullying law and laws like it around the country, ADL created its No Place for Hate program that it presents in schools around the country, including more than 100 schools in North Texas
Horn said that as part of the program, ADL provides anti-bullying training for police and other professionals.
Colleyville’s Rabbi Charlie credited the ADL’s training with teaching him how to survive the hostage situation he found himself and two congregants in earlier this year.
“Many think of the ADL as a Jewish organization,” Carp said. But she explained that it serves a wide variety of groups because, “No one’s safe unless we’re all safe.”
Some of the more interesting recent work ADL has been involved with is tracking hate on social media.
“Like a frog in hot water,” Carp said, “the temperature keeps rising. People become more tolerant of things you would never have said before.”
Most of the threats come from those hiding behind anonymous monikers, and the level of hate keeps rising.
Horn said the walk is a perfect way to help break that cycle.
The first Dallas walk was held in 2019. Horn said she expected 500 people that year, and 2,000 showed up.
The next year, the walk went virtual and was planned to return in the fall of 2021. This is the delayed walk, which will become an annual spring event.
Walk Against Hate takes place April 3 at the plaza at American Airlines Center. Register at
WalkAgainstHate.org/dallas for a discounted price or at the Plaza the morning of the walk.
