AUSTIN, Texas — People flooded the streets of Downtown Austin as they celebrated Pride on Aug. 12.
The event kicked off at 8 p.m. down Congress Avenue as people danced and cheered. But hours before the fun began on the streets, a number of city council members were down at City Hall spreading the message that the Capital City does not and will not welcome hate against any community member.
"It requires each of us to be intentional and to recognize that everyone belongs and everyone contributes to our community," Councilmember Alison Alter (District 10) said.
Alter heads the Anti-Hate Education and Outreach Initiative, which was launched in July in an effort to provide resources so discriminatory incidents are reported and handled properly. The initiative is designed to track hate crime data in Austin.
Saturday was the first event hosted by the campaign, which saw support from Alter's colleagues, District 9 Councilmember Zo Qadri and District 2 Councilmember Vanessa Fuentes.
Alter pointed to a number of antisemitic incidents in 2021, which included an attack where a local synagogue was set on fire.
"We learned that we had work to do as a city to make sure that people can report the incident and feel confident that those incidents were reaching people who could take action when appropriate," Alter said.
The ultimate goal is to ensure that hate is kept out of Austin.
"We don't tolerate bias. We're going for a goal of a zero hate and bias in our community" said Alicia Dean, strategic communication consultant for the City.
If anyone suspects a hate crime or incident, they are encouraged to report it to Austin Police Department officers or the Anti-Defamation League-Austin.