October 09, 2024

Center for the Study of Hate

The hate-crimes tracker website Hindutva Watch and social worker Landon Turlock are the recipients of this year’s Gonzaga University Center for the Study of Hate’s Eva Lassman “Take Action Against Hate” awards.

The Take Action Against Hate awards are presented to one individual and one organization that actively challenge hate and make positive strides of change in their communities, following in the footsteps of Eva Lassman, a Holocaust survivor and widely respected anti-hate advocate.

“The awards committee considers many factors when selecting recipients for the Eva Lassman ‘Take Action Against Hate’ awards, particularly the degree to which the nominees have engaged in action and awareness-building within their community, whether local, national or global,” says Gonzaga’s Aaron Danowski, a center board member who chaired the awards committee.

“While the committee is interested in any nomination that highlights efforts to counter hatred, we are attentive to efforts that demonstrate impact. The impact that Hindutva Watch and Landon have had on their respective communities is indisputable.”

Hindutva Watch, founded by Kashmiri journalist Raqib Hameed Naik in 2021, documents hate crimes and hate speech aimed at religious minorities, particularly Muslims and Christians, in predominantly Hindu India.

Hindutva refers to the ideological movement to make India a Hindu nation, and has been closely associated with the political party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hindutva Watch has been described by The Washington Post as India’s most comprehensive real-time dataset of hate crimes, with over 4,000 cases documented to date.

Naik, his family, and his network of volunteers have faced political repression for shedding light on these cases. Most recently, Hindutva Watch’s website was blocked in India ahead of the country’s elections, and their X profile was banned. The organization’s efforts have succeeded in attracting international media attention, and Naik recently spoke at the Oslo Freedom Forum about the importance of calling out Hindu nationalism’s dangerous effects.

Landon Turlock, a social worker and community leader in Edmonton, Alberta, has dedicated themself to combating hate and discrimination. Turlock and their colleagues at Coalitions Creating Equity and StopHateAB produced a comprehensive report, a free online course, documentary, and guide to inform how organizations respond to hate crime reports and support survivors in Edmonton. Turlock was appointed as a Hate Crimes Community Liaison by the Government of Alberta in 2022, where they worked alongside their colleague Cecilia Mzvondiwa to engage with hundreds of Albertans and recommend best practices for the provincial government to prevent and respond to hate crimes. Their collaboration with the Edmonton Police Service led to significant advancements in training and support for hate crime survivors. Additionally, as an instructor at MacEwan University, Turlock educates future social workers on community practice methods. Turlock’s initiatives aim to provide practical tools to counter hate and inform the response to hate crimes.

“In the more than 6 years that I have known them,” wrote Irfan Chaudhry, a sociology lecturer at MacEwan University, in a letter supporting Turlock’s nomination, “Landon has reached over 4,000 people in their efforts to build organizational and institutional capacity throughout both Canada and the United States to prevent hate crimes and incidents while effectively supporting survivors.”

Recipients of the “Take Action Against Hate” Awards will be honored at a Human Rights Awards Banquet in Spokane Nov. 21, an event sponsored by Human Rights Spokane.