Recently, I visited with a group of middle school students at W. Tresper Clarke Middle School in Long Island, New York. I came prepared to speak about the general evils of prejudice and to encourage the students to always treat themselves and each other with a healthy degree of respect.

But it turned out that I was the one who ended up listening. The W. Tresper Clarke students told me about their concern for people from other nations and religions in the aftermath of September 11th and how they decided to come up with a campaign to stop post-9/11 stereotyping and harassment. They called their campaign "HI HONEY" -- Hand In Hand Our Nation Embraces You. Get it?

Fueled by ignorance and fear, bias and prejudice can quickly turn into hate and violence. Children are not born with prejudice and bias - they learn it. Parents, educators, and caregivers should take advantage of every teachable moment in the development of children so that positive lessons about respect, diversity, and inclusion can be learned and in turn, help to prevent much of the bias-related youth violence that is so disturbingly prevalent today. While research tells us that children begin to notice differences at a very early age, we also know that their own self-concept and their attitudes toward others can be deeply affected by the way adults respond to differences and bias. By first understanding our own biases, adults are better able to empower children as anti-bias change agents and to teach them to respect and celebrate diversity.

Through the positive influences of teachers, parents and other adults in their lives, these children have developed a healthy prosocial attitude toward others. Hate is probably never going to be completely erased, but when adults ensure that children are exposed to positive messages about celebrating diversity, we unlock that infectious and hopeful energy children possess to do the right thing. Partners Against Hate is committed to providing you with the tools and resources that will help you make that happen.