Suffolk County Inter-Faith Anti-Bias Task Force
The Suffolk County Inter-Faith Anti-Bias Task Force was established by the County Executive in 1984 to be a pro-active agency in promoting tolerance and understanding. It is composed of concerned citizens who work together to address issues of prejudice and discrimination.
We seek to bring our neighbors together through various cultural and educational events. Many of these are planned in cooperation with other advocacy and government agencies. Each year at our Spring Convocation, we recognize individuals and school groups that distinguish themselves through their promotion of racial, ethnic and religious understanding.
Lynda Perdomo-Ayala, LMSW, C.L.C.
Chair
Mission
Intolerance and prejudice against persons because of their race, ethnicity, age, disability, gender or sexual orientation tear at the fabric of a democratic and pluralistic society. Acts of violence based on such bias further alienates individuals and groups and serve to rob us of the crucial sense of security we all require in order to live, work, play, or pray in our communities. In consideration of the destructive effects of prejudice and racism in our communities, and in order to address this ongoing problem, the Suffolk County Inter-Faith Anti-Bias Task Force was created.
The Task Force is a non-partisan group that is a sub-committee of the Suffolk County Human Rights Commission. The Task Force is comprised of concerned citizens, government officials, representatives of the SCPD Hate Crimes Unit, people from the field of education, clergy, and representatives of the town Task Forces all of whom work together to address the issue of prejudice and racism in any segment of our county. The Task Force will work to prevent and combat prejudice and racism and diffuse their destructive effects in several ways, including but not limited to:
- Reaching out in an impartial manner to bring together involved parties for dialogue;
- Developing a network of local clergy and community representatives to develop responsible leadership, working in partnership with the Task Force;
- Working with and through appropriate County channels to reduce the economic and societal pressures which lead to bias, hatred and misunderstanding;
- Networking with governmental and law enforcement agencies to combat prejudice and its destructiveness;
- Supporting programs of education to eliminate bias and hatred; and
- Developing a significant and public presence in Suffolk County so that individuals, local groups and the media will be aware of the important and responsible services which the Task Force can provide.
Unless otherwise notified, the Suffolk County Inter-Faith Anti-Bias Task Force (SCABTF) meetings will be every 2nd Monday of each month at 10:30am