Stand Up to Hate: A Mission for Wisconsin
Stories to start conversations in your community or classroom!
Wisconsin Humanities believes that storytelling and history have the power to help people better understand their own communities and imagine possibilities for progress and change. Stand Up to Hate is a program for students and citizens who want to prevent hate and hate crimes in our state. It includes real stories of hate, violence, and resilience experienced by eight different communities across Wisconsin, from Milwaukee to Meteor and from the 1860s to today.
This free resource offers guides on how to incorporate these stories into high school classrooms and use them to start community conversations. Stand Up to Hate resources include:
- A packet including eight stories of hate, violence, and resilience experienced in communities across Wisconsin
- An introduction to hate crimes generally and in Wisconsin
- Supporting materials for how to teach or discuss the stories, including discussion questions for each
- A model lesson plan and several class activities for a high school classroom
- A suggested plan for a community conversation around the stories
- A series of printable posters that communities and schools may use to share these stories across Wisconsin
You can download these materials as PDFs on our downloads page or by clicking here:
Wisconsin Stories of Hate and Humanity
Read on to learn more about the impact of hate crimes in Wisconsin and how communities around the state have found their own ways to Stand Up to Hate.
This introduction provides basic facts about hate crimes in Wisconsin, hate crimes legislation over time, and the United We Stand project. It also tells the story of George Marshall Clark, a Black man from Milwaukee who was lynched in 1861. This historical example illustrates why hate crimes matter, why they are different from other crimes, and why they need a particular response.
In 2012, a white supremacist murdered several Sikh Americans at the gurdwara in Oak Creek. In the years that followed, the son of one of the victims and a former white supremacist formed an unlikely partnership. Read about how they work together to combat hate.
In 2020, a Hmong couple was harassed at a grocery store in Stevens Point. They were just one example of the bias and hatred that Asian Americans faced during the COVID-19 Pandemic. But anti-Asian discrimination in Wisconsin is nothing new. Read about the experiences of Hmong people in Wisconsin.
In 2011, a man was brutally beaten outside of a gay bar in Oshkosh. Read more about the experiences of LGBTQ Wisconsinites.
In 2018, high schoolers in Baraboo were photographed making a “Nazi Salute.” Read about how this event affected Jewish people in Baraboo and across the state, and what the students learned from a local rabbi.
Bullying and violence in schools touch all students, but Black students often face a particular kind of hate. Read about the stories of racist graffiti, taunts, and outright violence that Black students have faced in schools across Wisconsin.
Although Latinx people have lived in Wisconsin for more than a century, too often they are still treated as outsiders. In 2019, a Latinx man was attacked in Milwaukee and told to “go back” to his country. In the early 2000s, whole cities considered banning the use of Spanish in government materials. Read about the history of discrimination and violence toward Spanish speakers, immigrants, and the Latinx community in Wisconsin.
Muslims in Wisconsin, and across the United States, are too often the targets of bigotry, hatred, and violence. In recent years, Muslims in Wisconsin have been attacked for their religious beliefs, their clothing, and their perceived connection to political events around the world. Read about the experiences of Muslim women in Milwaukee and their proposals to combat hate.
In 2020, a man shot a group of American Indians fishing near his property. This hate crime recalled the years of violence that American Indians faced while trying to hunt and fish during the 1980s and 1990s. Read about these legacies of violence and the hate and bias many American Indians still face today.
Stand Up to Hate is a free resource that offers guides on how to incorporate these stories into your community. We have assembled: a packet of eight stories from across Wisconsin; a teacher’s guide for high school classrooms; a community guide with resources to use these stories in community conversations; and a series of printable posters.

Are you using the stories in your community or classroom? Please let us know how it goes! Click here.