NEWS

Hudson Valley Hate Free Zone convenes in Beacon

Jack Howland
Poughkeepsie Journal
Dutchess County

More than 200 people gathered in St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Beacon Saturday to form the Hudson Valley Hate Free Zone, a network of people and organizations committed to standing against hate, according to a press release.

The assembly was organized by Community Voices Heard and Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, and featured attendants from Dutchess, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Ulster and Columbia counties. The coalition held the event, according to the release, in response to an “increasingly hostile climate” for marginalized groups.

The Hudson Valley Hate Free Zone, according to the release, hopes to push for policies protecting immigrants, like a sanctuary resolution approved by the Kingston common council Tuesday.

Its goal is to see a “Hudson Valley where an attack on one vulnerable community is an attack on all vulnerable communities.”

Dominique Suddith, a member of Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, spoke about where the group goes from here, according to the release.

“What’s next is to take into consideration what happened today, look at our pledges, and turn it into action,” Suddith said, according to the release. “This is just the beginning.”

Both individuals and institutions can get involved at tiny.cc/hatefreepledge.

Jack Howland: jhowland@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4870, Twitter: @jhowl04