Denver, CO, May 30, 2014 … Hundreds of supporters attended Mountain States ADL’s 2014 Torch of Liberty Dinner on May 15, 2014, as the “torch” was demonstratively passed from one generation to the next. Attendees were asked what they would do to create more justice.

 

ADL’s Distinguished Community Service Award was presented to the current and past Board Chairs of ADL’s Mountain States Region.  Each of the honorees was accompanied to the stage by a young leader who explained what they would do to create more justice in the name of the Board Chair. Chaplain (Col.) Robert Bruno of the United States Air Force Academy Chaplains Corps was also honored by ADL, as he received its First Amendment Award for promoting religious liberty at the Academy. Rosalind Wiseman, author of books including “Masterminds and Wingmen” and “Queen Bees and Wannabees,” upon which the hugely successful movie “Mean Girls” was based, was the keynote speaker. Ms. Wiseman has recently joined forces with ADL’s Education Division to create “Rosalind’s Classroom Conversations.” Written for educators, “Rosalind’s Classroom Conversations” feature essays on bullying, current events, and the social and emotional development of children.

 

Barry Curtiss-Lusher, current ADL National Board Chair and one of the evening’s honorees, invoked the words of the rabbinic sage Hillel, which he described as “so instructive of the work of ADL: ‘If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when? … Just as ADL creates justice by combatting hate through education, advocacy and our relationships with law enforcement and the military, I charge each of you to think about how you will create more justice in the world.”

 

ADL Regional Director Scott L. Levin spoke of hateful flyers that had recently been distributed in Denver neighborhoods attacking African Americans, Latinos and Jews.   He noted that such flyers, “like bus ads and billboards that denounce both Muslims and Jews, and laws that single out members of the LGBT community, are simply reminders that that we have to keep up the fight against not only these blatant forms of hate, but also the micro-aggressions and more subtle forms of hate on the Internet, subtle forms of discrimination that cause people of different religions or races to be treated differently, or even the jokes that are repeated in the office or at the club.”

ADL thanks its sponsors, the Curtiss-Lusher Family, Rose Medical Center, Norton Bain, Berenbaum Weinshienk PC, Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh Jardine PC, Fleishman & Shapiro P.C., Foster Graham Milstein Calisher, LLP, Greenberg Traurig LLP, Lazarus Israel Opportunities Fund LLLP, Marvin and Bebe Levy, Micky and Louann Miller, Jordan and Essie Perlmutter, The Quiat Companies, Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP, Wells Fargo, Melvin and Elaine Wolf Foundation, and Applejack Wine and Spirits, for their generous support of the event, and to event co-chairs David Ickovic, Stephen Burg and Amy Tolley.