The Mountain States Spotlight this month shines on ADL Regional Board Member Steve Shapiro. A member of the Board since 2008, Steve is a native of Brooklyn, NY and an attorney and partner at Ogborn Mihm LLP. He earned his JD from Thomas Cooley Law School and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, American Assoc. For Justice, Colorado Trial Lawyers Assoc. and the Brain Injury Alliance of CO. Read Steve’s thoughts about why the values of his family align so closely with those of ADL, and why he and his family have chosen to dedicate so much support and attention to our critical work.
Our family has been involved with the Anti-Defamation League for many years. I joined the board because the cause means so much to me and my family. Growing up on the East Coast in the 60s and 70s around a lot of Jewish people was very important in my development. The ethnic and racial pockets that surrounded where I lived gave me quite an education about the way people perceive differences in each other. That time was about ending racial injustice, bigotry, and hate. With all the political activism, I really thought we made a difference and change occurred. I’m embarrassed to say all it did was push those issues into the darkness, but they were still there. We now see how deep seated these issues are.
A number of years ago, my wife Mona and I traveled to Eastern Europe and then the next year to Israel. Visiting Eastern Europe was eye opening and following that up with our trip to Israel put incredible perspective on why the issues of antisemitism and intolerance are so prevalent. Spending time in Eastern Europe and trying to understand the Holocaust led us to believe that it could happen again very easily. That is a very frightening thought.
In such a climate, it is so important for ADL to continue to be a powerful and effective organization. Coalition building and joining forces with other marginalized groups can create power in numbers to fight hate and bigotry. Learning and becoming educated about other marginalized groups is crucial to ending hate and bigotry so that we can work together from a place of understanding and common ground. When you understand someone’s culture it lets you truly understand who they are and what is important.
As a family we are very concerned about where we are headed as a world. Hate and bigotry are so prevalent, and our politicians are using it to obtain power. The divisive nature of the world has to change, and we are hopeful for leaders to emerge that have the guts to fight for what is right as opposed to what the extremists want.
This is, in our lifetime, the most important time to come together and push back against these issues that have clearly been in existence for a very long time. ADL has a crucial role in that process, and we must continue to support and help as much as we can. We are dedicated to supporting ADL more than ever. Education and understanding of all groups that are different than us is imperative to moving forward. We must want to open up and listen and hear people’s views and thoughts.
Hate and bigotry are taught. A person is not born to be a bigot or to hate. The same education and understanding that create hate and bigotry can also reverse that trend. ADL has been and continues to be the group that works to create change. ADL has always done right in knowing what an uphill battle this work really is. Complacency and polarization are not the answer. The stronger we all are together the more difficult it is for those who want to spread bigotry and hate. This is not just a Jewish issue as we have all seen in the statistics that demonstrate how hate is growing in every quarter.
Perseverance is essential, we cannot get discouraged. Power in numbers is imperative. We need to make sure that ADL becomes stronger and more powerful in influencing hearts and minds toward change. We need to ensure that ADL is healthy and that we involve our children and grandchildren to make sure that ADL continues to educate and spread the word that hate and bigotry are simply unacceptable.