• In early 2005, when Sheriff Mac Holcomb of Marshall County, Ala., refused to remove a public letter decrying homosexuality as "despicable" and "an abomination" from the county's website, local residents and others from across the country wrote thousands of letters of protest. After sustained community pressure and a significant amount of media attention, the county finally removed the offensive material.

• A week after the 9.11 terrorist attacks, U.S. Rep. John Cooksey, R-La., told reporters that everyone with a "diaper on his head" should be considered a suspect. After outcry from his constituents, Cooksey apologized, but the damage was done: His remark offered tacit encouragement for an alarming wave of hate crimes against Arab Americans, Muslims, Sikhs and citizens of South Asian descent.

• When Nashville-area minister Maury Davis called Islam "the evil religion" and "the greatest threat to the American way of life" in early 2002, the local Islamic community quickly organized. Local Christian leaders also stepped up as allies, making a public stand against hate.

More Than They Asked For
When a group of residents in Montgomery, Ala., joined forces to counter the burgeoning post-9.11 backlash against Arab and Muslim Americans, they had no idea their efforts would result in the appointment of the first hate crimes officer in Alabama history.

"All that we had really hoped for was to get some sort of public statement from local leaders about the backlash," said Trish O'Kane, secretary for the Alliance for Civility and Tolerance.

Instead, their plea to local leaders was so persuading that within hours of meeting with ACT members, Police Chief John Wilson named the state's first hate crimes officer.

ACT met with Chief Wilson to voice concerns about several local hate crimes against Muslims. The group also expressed their worry that other bias-motivated crimes were going unreported and undocumented.

"Security was high on the agenda, and there was a problem that needed to be solved," said O'Kane. "I think (the police) were glad to see people walking through the door who were willing to help and who could provide them with some information about the problem."

Before meeting with ACT, said Chief Wilson, "It was hard for us to get something off the ground, because there was nothing else like it in this area. We didn't really know what we needed."

Now, after community involvement, the Montgomery Police Department has one full-time hate crimes officer and another officer trained as a backup.