Hate-Free Together Aims to Build a Regional Response to Hate

Hate-Free Together, a regional initiative that includes the City of Davis, UC Davis, Yolo County, Davis Joint Unified School District and the Yolo County Office of Education, has launched a new strategic planning process, focusing on safety and belonging. UC Davis has been a member of the initiative since its founding in 2022. The planning process aims to outline more resources and steps for the community to take in combating hate and promoting a safer community.

Building on a Proven Community Response Model

In building Hate-Free Together, or HFT, community leaders strove to implement the successes of two regional health commitments and resource hubs, Healthy Davis Together and Healthy Yolo Together. Established during the pandemic as a COVID-19 response project between UC Davis, the City of Davis and Yolo County, the two projects demonstrated successful models of cross-regional community service and strategic response.  

“Hate-Free Together was based on that premise: we had something that was regional and that worked really well, and people did remain healthy,” Renetta Garrison Tull, vice chancellor for UC Davis Inclusive Excellence, said. “When a lot of the hate situations started coming up … nationally … and some of them did manifest in different places around Davis, leaders in the area said, ‘Let’s see if we can build upon this foundation and have Hate-Free Together.’” 

On November 30, 2022, community leaders signed the Hate-Free Together Resolution, which outlines the initiative's guiding principles and formalizes the shared commitment of UC Davis, the City of Davis, and Yolo County. The resolution was signed by Mayor Lucas Frerichs; Vice Mayor Will Arnold; Councilmembers Dan Carson, Josh Chapman, and Gloria Partida; Yolo County Supervisors Don Saylor of District 2 and Jim Provenza of District 4; and UC Davis Chancellor Gary S. May. The resolution promotes inclusion, condemns hate, and commits these institutions to dedicating resources and time to strengthen safety and wellbeing. 

Inside the Hate-Free Together Collaboration

The initiative is run by an executive committee composed of representatives from UC Davis Government and Community Relations and Inclusive Excellence, along with appointees from the City of Davis, Yolo County, the Yolo County Office of Education, and Davis Joint Unified School District. Members of each agency bring their own expertise in executing the initiative’s goals. 

Megan Macklin, one of the executive committee members from Inclusive Excellence, shared how she and colleauge Mikael Villalobos contribute as representatives of the university.

“Our role on the executive committee is to regularly come together with the other Hate-Free Together agencies to work collaboratively,” Macklin said. “We think about, what does inclusive excellence look like in practice? We've been able to bring that expertise forward.”

HFT focuses on coordination, communication and strategy to streamline agency efforts, avoiding duplication and increasing the cohesiveness of regional messaging, particularly in response to hate incidents. 

“UC Davis as a campus — we’re a large entity in the area, but we’re not a monolith, and we don’t live here alone,” Tull said. “We live here in community.” 

Recognizing the Interconnected Nature of Community Harm

A foundational principle of HFT is to acknowledge that, though boundaries exist between agencies, an individual may participate across multiple entities and identities. Because of the overlapping nature of these affiliations, HFT creates a system based on the reality that the harm someone experiences in one space reverberates into others.

“We recognize that someone’s affiliation with the university doesn’t stop when they cross the street and are no longer on university property,” Macklin said.

While many responses to hate can often focus on interpersonal communication or individual behavior, HFT emphasizes that organizational, not just interpersonal, support can be key. Leaders of the initiative contend that long-lasting change requires institutions and organizations themselves to examine their effectiveness in combating hate. 

“What we, as Inclusive Excellence staff, bring to the table is thinking about it organizationally,” Macklin said. “What does it mean for organizations, especially public agencies, to promote belonging — not just on a one-on-one, person-to-person level, but within an organization and between organizations?” 

Growing a Community Response to Hate 

Another substantial aspect of the work HFT does is resource mapping, which includes improving service accessibility and speed of resource referral. The initiative is always looking to add to its inventory.

“That’s a big part of the work we’ve been doing: resource mapping, not only between the Hate-Free Together agencies, but also working collaboratively with local community organizations,” Macklin said. 

As the initiative continues to develop, those who want to get involved with Hate-Free Together will have opportunities in the future to contribute.

“We continue to have one-on-one conversations with anyone who contacts Hate-Free Together wanting to learn more,” Macklin said. “As Hate-Free Together and our strategic plan roll out, there will be opportunities for folks to get involved and engage — as citizens or as members of the university community.”