Teach 'em early

COEUR d'ALENE - The key weapon against hate groups of any kind is education.

That was Rachel Dolezal's message Sunday at the Harding Family Center during her presentation to the North Idaho Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Dolezal is the curator and director of education for the Human Rights Education Institute, of Coeur d'Alene. She also teaches at North Idaho College.

"Education being a tool to transform, a tool to motivate people to get engaged is really what we are all about," said Dolezal. "Education should compel us to do something."

Meanwhile, as she spoke, four white supremacists protested outside, waiving an Aryan Nation's flag and holding signs that read "Equal rights for whites." Coeur d'Alene police questioned the protesters.

Dolezal said teaching kids in kindergarten through grade 12 about human rights and to have empathy for others is a major part of what the institute does. It works with schools here to provide cultural education. It also has a summer program for middle and high school students that teaches about human rights issues.

"Informing minds while they are still young is much more efficient, much more productive than waiting until they are older and trying to change minds," Dolezal said.

The North Idaho Unitarian Universalist Fellowship last month hosted Saleh Elgiadi, education and outreach coordinator to the Muslim community of the Spokane Islamic Center. Elgiadi spoke about the articles and pillars of the Islamic faith.

Marian Breckenridge, who attended Dolezal's presentation, said Dolezal gave a concise history of human rights issues in the Coeur d'Alene area, explained where things stand now, and how people can help. Breckenridge, 76, of Coeur d'Alene, is co-founder of a spiritual training school here and a fundraiser for human rights causes.

"Seeing the white supremacists protest in front of a Sunday service that focused on modern human rights issues was a sharp reminder of how much work still remains to be done," Breckenridge said.

Tony Stewart, of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, who was at Dolezal's presentation, said a collision between two principles of the U.S. Constitution could be seen by the protesters showing up.

One constitutional amendment protects free speech, while another protects people from harassment.

"They can be out there, sit there and demonstrate," Stewart told the 30 people in attendance Sunday. "But there are lines that can't be crossed."

Protesters can't threaten or harass other people, he said. People must be wise about how they confront hate groups, he said. The task force was founded as a response against the harassment and criminal activities of the Aryan Nations.

He agreed with Dolezal that educating people early in life is the best way to bring change. Stewart said changing minds that are already made up is difficult, and sometimes impossible. He said the Aryan Nation's former leader Richard Butler, who died in 2004, was never going to change his mind.