Together Against Hate

in partnership with First Coast YMCA and the Jewish Family Alliance (JCA)

Let’s listen, learn and grow together – even when the conversations are challenging.

Together Against Hate: Promoting Unity in Our Community is a speaker series that will address topics impacting our area including prejudices in faith, race, antisemitism, ethnicity, LGBTQ+, gender, and diverse abilities. Starting in September, influential speakers from 904Ward, JASMYN, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Arc Jacksonville, the LJD Jewish Family & Community Services, OneJax, and Interfaith Center, will empower our neighbors with the knowledge needed to have a voice in taking a stance against bias.

More information on all events

As a visual representation of our partnership and the efforts made to unify our community, our series will culminate with the first-ever Racing Against Hate 5K Run/Walk at the Winston Family YMCA on Sunday, February 25, 2024, at 1 pm.

Please reference our Together Against Hate speaker schedule below and mark your community calendars to join us as we inspire our neighbors to create a safe and welcoming community. Our educational speaker series begins on Thursday, September 14 and continues through January 2024.

· 904Ward will commence our speaker series with LJD JFCS’s Resisting Hate, Repairing the World panel discussion moderated by Hope McMath curator of the Frisch Family Holocaust Memorial Gallery, at 7 pm on Thursday, September 14 at the LJD Jewish Family & Community Services (JFCS), 8540 Baycenter Road. At our initial Together Against Hate event, JFCS will also feature We Could Not Be Silent – a gallery exhibit that commemorates the remarkable act of solidarity at a critical moment of civil rights history when a group of rabbis were jailed for supporting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and local black activists working to desegregate St. Augustine, Florida.

· Timothy Jefferson, Director of Teen and Family Initiatives at JASMYN, will lead a panel discussion and share information about LGBTQ+ rights and advocacy on Tuesday, October 10 at 7 pm at Friday Musicale on 645 Oak St. in Jacksonville.

· The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Florida Regional Director Sarah Emmons will be at the JCA (8505 San Jose Boulevard) on Tuesday, November 7 at 7 pm to discuss the rise of antisemitism and what is being done to initiate change. Also addressing audiences at the JCA on Nov. 7, Rabbi Diana Fersko, author of We Need to Talk About Antisemitism, will share her exploration of why people are reluctant to discuss antisemitism and what empowers us to fight against it.

· Promoting and protecting the human rights of people with diverse abilities, The Arc Jacksonville will host an evening of advocacy and education at 7 pm on Tuesday, December 5 at the Jessie Ball duPont Center at 40 East Adams Street in downtown Jacksonville.

· As the finale of our speaker series, local faith leaders, OneJax, and the Interfaith Center of Northeast Florida will host a panel discussion at 7 pm on Thursday, January 18, 2024, in the Main Library in Downtown Jacksonville at 303 N. Laura Street.

· The Together Against Hate partnership will culminate in a community-wide Racing Against Hate 5K Run/Walk at the Winston Family YMCA at 1 pm on Sunday, February 25, 2024.