Sowing the Seeds of a Brighter Future: Cook County United Against Hate is Growing Hope
JCC Chicago has been proud to partner with Cook County United Against Hate, starting with our Violins of Hope Chicago initiative in 2023. What was a big idea all about kindness, unity and hope inspired JCC Chicago to launch a movement that we call Growing Hope. It is a call to action, a mindset, and movement designed to combat a growing crisis of hopelessness, anxiety, and fear by engaging youth as upstanders in their communities. Rooted in the Jewish spirit of Tikkun Olam (repairing our world), Growing Hope will empower youth to use the tools of empathy, kindness, and creativity in service of building a brighter future for all.
We are proud of our partnership with Cook County United Against Hate and are pleased to share words from our friend, Scott Britton, Cook County Commissioner.
In the spring of 2022, Cook County United Against Hate was catalyzed by Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton in response to antisemitic propaganda anonymously dropped on his driveway. Stymied by how to properly report this disturbing act and unwilling to stand idly by as abhorrent vitriol spread through the community, Cook County United Against Hate was seeded. The inaugural event, a Rally Against Antisemitism, was held on April 24, 2022 – from there, a new initiative began to grow.
Two short years later, Cook County United Against Hate is an initiative that seeks to inspire everyone to learn and take action against hate.
The initiative promotes anti-hate education through non-judgmental learning spaces and thought-provoking community events. The Cook County United Against Hate Knowledge Center uplifts a myriad of existing anti-hate resources suitable for individuals regardless of where they may be in their own anti-hate journey. A signature event, the Hate Crime Prevention and Investigation Workshop, teaches communities how hate crimes are handled by law enforcement agencies on the County level. Other events, like film screenings and panel discussions, allow residents to confront their own implicit biases.
A cornerstone of the initiative is growing coalition with individuals and organizations to publicly denounce hate. Building partnerships with a common purpose to de-tassel the intractable problem of racism, bigotry, and discrimination from our communities. Together, we can share in the responsibility and accountability, and have the opportunity for a greater impact. In two short years, Cook County United Against Hate has cultivated partnerships with more than 60 nonprofits, faith groups, businesses, and governments from all corners of Cook County that are actively spreading the message that hate has no home in Cook County.
JCC Chicago was among the very first to raise their hand, and we have since harvested fruitful opportunities that have engaged hundreds of residents.
Reciprocally, Cook County United Against Hate has partnered with JCC Chicago on their Growing Hope Initiative: a call to action that empowers people to use empathy, kindness, and creativity in service of building a brighter future for all. Both Cook County United Against Hate and Growing Hope are rooted in the belief that we can repair our world; indeed, working to make the spirit of Tikkun Olam a reality.
In April of 2023, Cook County United Against Hate and JCC Chicago announced the arrival of Violins of Hope – a private collection of violins, violas, and cellos collected since the end of World War II, many of which belonged to Jews before and during the Holocaust. From here, Growing Hope took root in the community.
Cook County United Against Hate was proud to support the inaugural Growing Hope Concert held at Gallagher Way, showcasing both the Violins of Hope and numerous influencers who declared proudly, for all of Wrigleyville to hear, there was no place for hate in Cook County.
A powerhouse partnership, JCC Chicago and Cook County United Against Hate have also co-hosted numerous events including the Chicago Premiere of Not In Our Town’s “Repairing the World” documentary and the lighting of the Hanukkah Menorah in the lobby of the County Building in downtown Chicago.
“Working with JCC Chicago has been inspiring,” Cook County Commissioner Scott Britton said. “The amount of hate that proliferates our world both online and off is daunting. Knowing that partners like JCC Chicago are spreading a message of love and empathy goes hand in hand with Cook County United Against Hate’s mission of coalition, education, and the ultimate eradication of hate. Together, I know that we can create the hopeful community in which we wish to live, as we uplift a message of love and acceptance in the face of hate.”
To learn more, please visit www.violinsofhopechicago.org and www.CookCountyUnitedAgainstHate.com.