The Witness in Action
Filming Acts of Hate
Below is a tip sheet produced by Witness, and endorsed by the Third Side website. See the original >>
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has documented over 700 acts of hate across the United States since the presidential election on November 8th.
WITNESS is doubling down on our work in the U.S. We are continuing our support of people documenting police violence, and we are expanding to support at-risk groups such as immigrants, refugees and LGBT communities to use video as a tool to expose abuses and amplify personal narratives.
Right now, we know that ...
A Better Way for Venezuela
By GUSTAVO DUDAMEL in the New York Times >>
JULY 19, 2017
LOS ANGELES — Almost two months ago, in the wake of the killing of the violinist Armando Cañizales by Venezuelan security forces, I raised my voice against the violence and repression in my native Venezuela. I had to speak out because Venezuelans are desperate for the recognition of their equal and inalienable rights and to have their basic needs met. This extreme confrontation and polarization is an obstacle to understanding and a peaceful democratic coexistence, and it cannot stand. Nothing ...
The Bystander Effect and The Third Side
It was a cold winter’s night, at 3.15 am, on March 13, 1964, when Kitty Genovese, a then 28-year-old manager of a bar, was returning home to her apartment in Queens, New York. She had parked her car about 100 feet from her apartment’s door when she was approached by Winston Mosely, a business machines operator on the prowl for potential victims. Moseley ran after her, quickly overtook her and stabbed her twice in the back. Genovese screamed. Almost all neighbors had their windows closed and very few deciphered it as a cry for help.[1] One of the witnessing neighbors ...
The purpose of Protest – A key tool for the Witness and Equalizer: The example of Colin Kaepernick
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It was a bright sunny late August day in Santa Clara California. The stadium was packed with San Francisco 49er fans. The pre-season game was about to begin like any other National Football League (NFL) event – with the singing of the National Anthem. The announcer’s melodramatic voice emerged through the loud speaker, “Would you all please rise and remove your caps for the singing of our National Anthem.” Reverberations rippled through the stadium. All rose. But one.
Colin Kaepernick, once a promising star quarterback with the San Francisco ...
The Witness: Speaking Out for Love
At the height of World War II, hundreds of Christian women turned out in the middle of Berlin to protest the arrest of their Jewish husbands, whom the Nazis were about to deport to the death camps.
"Give us back our husbands," the women chanted.
The Nazi police came out to disperse them with guns and fierce dogs. The women fled at first, but later regathered and continued their protest day after day before the eyes of ordinary Berliners, who served as Witnesses.
Although the Nazi regime had no compunctions about massacring innocents, they were nonetheless reluct...