Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic Joins “Hours Against Hate” Campaign
Pledge-Signing Event Slated for July 11 at 9to5 Offices
(MILWAUKEE) – Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic will join a global initiative to help promote respect across lines of culture, religion, tradition, class, sexual orientation and gender by participating in the Hours Against Hate campaign. The organization’s goal is to recruit five hundred individuals to commit one hour toward fighting bigotry.
Dimitrijevic will sign the pledge July 11 and work the phones for 9to5 to promote a July 17 “Know Your Rights” training session and the community canvass 9to5 will sponsor on July 13.
“Wage discrimination is unacceptable, and it is a form of discrimination against all women,” Dimitrijevic said. “Joining Hours Against Hate and 9to5 in fighting discrimination is one way we can help to end the injustice of wage theft and bias against women. Discrimination against women is a form of hate, and we must fight to end it.”
Conceived from a Facebook campaign started by the U.S. Department of State in 2011, the message of Hours Against Hate is simple in its power: Pledge support of those who don’t look like you, pray like you, love like you or live like you.
“We ask everyone who is outraged by hate to pledge an hour to help end it,” Dimitrijevic said. “We won’t tell you how to spend your hour. We simply ask that you take action.”
Chantia Lewis, a grassroots member of 9to5 and mother of two, said pay discrimination is pervasive in the US and in Wisconsin. 9to5 is one of the largest, most respected national membership organizations of working women in the U.S., dedicated to putting working women’s issues on the public agenda.
“Women earned 77 cents for every dollar earned by men, and the gap for women of color is even greater.” Lewis said, “As working women, we need to know our rights, demand fair treatment, and support one another in standing up for equality.”
Elana Kahn, director of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council, said Hours Against Hate is one small way in which hatred can be defeated. The mission of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation is to ensure the continuity of the Jewish people, to enhance the quality of Jewish life and to build a strong unified Jewish community in Milwaukee, in Israel and throughout the world. The Jewish Federation is sponsor of the program.
“This is a program that engages everyone,” Kahn said. “We want to build a stronger, more tolerant world, and Hours Against Hate is one way with which we can help increase understanding of those who are different from ourselves.”
Individuals can join the campaign at www.hoursagainsthate.org.
A kick-off event, which is open to all members of the community, will take place at 2:30 p.m. on July 11 at the 9to5 headquarters, 207 E. Buffalo St., Suite 211. Chairwoman Dimitrijevic will be joined at the event by Kahn of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and Vickers of 9to5.
Chairwoman Dimitrijevic is the youngest woman in history to serve as Board Chair and only the second woman to serve in that role. She also has the distinction of being the youngest woman ever elected County Supervisor when she was first elected in 2004.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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