Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYC Commission on Human Rights launched on Tuesday a citywide anti-discrimination campaign affirming New Yorkers' right to live, work and pray free from discrimination and harassment. The campaign, which includes ads, PSA videos and community events, responds to a 60 percent increase in reports of discrimination to the Human Rights Commission in 2016, a trend that continues into 2017.
"In New York City, our diversity is our strength," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "It does not matter where we come from, who we love or who we worship. Regardless of the national rhetoric, we have absolutely no tolerance for discrimination in our city."
Over the next six weeks, ads will appear in more than 3,400 placements on NYC Transit, LinkNYC kiosks, houses of worship, laundromats, barber shops and nail salons. The ads will also be featured in 25 community newspapers and radio stations. Additionally, videos will run on Hulu, YouTube, Google, NYC TV, Taxi TV and across all major social media platforms.
The campaign focuses on commonly experienced scenarios of discrimination and harassment by the city's various communities, including the Jewish, Muslim, Hispanic, Asian, Black and LGBTQ communities, and urge victims to contact the commission for help and to report discrimination.
In response to the rise in reports of discrimination, the commission has increased its public outreach efforts by hosting "Know Your Rights" events around the city, creating a bias response team and expanding the commission's infoline.
"It is unacceptable that any group of New Yorkers would be discriminated against because of how they look, how they worship or whom they choose to love," said Public Advocate Letitia James. "We must ensure that New Yorkers of all backgrounds are treated with the respect and equality they deserve because love always trumps hate."
