How ADL Makes a Difference

Empowering Peers to Squelch Hate

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Nikki Allinson, a sixth grader, was one of the few Jews in a Connecticut town. A group of students singled her out, making anti-Jewish jokes and disparaging references. As the school year went on, the harassment escalated to the point where “it was impossible to walk into a classroom without at least 10 kids giving the ‘Heil Hitler’ salute,” she says.

But even more unsettling was the response of her teachers: they did nothing to stop the abuse.

The school principal eventually meted out a minimal punishment to the harassing students, but it didn't do much for Nikki. “My life was miserable,” she says. “One lunch detention did not make up for that.”

Nikki refused to be a passive victim. She became involved in one of ADL's many national anti-bias programs—Names Can Really Hurt Us—where students work with their peers and teachers to counter name calling and bullying. Later, she became a peer trainer with ADL's Confronting Anti-Semitism program for Jewish high school students. Nikki knows the message of both programs is the same: any kind of bias must be confronted and dealt with.

“If people had spoken out for me when I was bombarded with hatred, the harassment might have ended,” she says. “So now I turn to you and ask, will you be brave enough to speak up next time you hear words of hate?”

With your support, ADL can teach more students to stand up for peers suffering from discrimination and hate.