Empowering African Immigrant Communities to Address Hate Crime in Maryland

The Global Peace Foundation proposes a project dedicated to reducing community tensions and enhancing resilience against hate crimes and incidents, with a particular focus on Black and African immigrant populations in Maryland in the counties of Prince George’s, Montgomery, and Anne Arundel. The project will involve the Sierra Leone Muslim Jamaat as a key partner, leveraging their deep connections within African immigrant communities to enhance the project's reach and impact.  

Primary activities of the project include developing a service provider catalog, which will compile all culturally appropriate and accessible essential services and resources available to hate crime victims from diverse backgrounds; conducting six workshops that will train participants in conflict resolution and civic engagement, enabling them to lead service projects funded by mini-grants; organizing community events designed to build trust between diverse community members and local law enforcement; and designing a multimedia campaign utilizing various platforms to reach a broad audience to raise awareness about hate and bias prevention and encourage the reporting of hate crimes.  

The expected outcomes include an increase in the reporting of hate crimes, improved community and law enforcement relations, and enhanced community capacity to prevent and respond to hate incidents.