The Not In Our Town (NIOT) movement began in Billings, MT, in 1992 to “stop hate, racism and bullying, and build safe, inclusive communities for all.”
After PBS aired a film on NIOT in December 1995, a Bloomington-Normal group began to form. The PBS documentary was screened locally with community discussions for youth and for adults; the Bloomington Police Dept began using the film in training. More forums and discussions were held after a failed human rights ordinance vote that January. In July 1996 the first NIOT march was held, with an event several summers after that. Church burnings in the south that year were one motivator for the march and a group went south to help rebuild churches. In August 1996 Bloomington erected its first NIOT sign at the city’s limits, with Normal following.
Over the coming years, the group responded to a visit from a white supremacist, initiated “no discrimination” and “no bullying” pledges for high school students, further engaged with local police, responded to the 2015 shootings of black church members in Charleston NC, and addressed other emerging local and national concerns.