The Power of One Voice in Raising Awareness About Bullying and Hate Crimes
The 2008 hate-crime murder of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero in Patchogue shone an unwelcome spotlight on the intolerance of some Long Islanders toward a growing immigrant community. It also led to an unexpected career change for his brother, Joselo.
Motivated by the human tragedy that personally touched his family and by his passionate commitment to preventing - or at least reducing - similar attacks, Joselo joined the Hagedorn Foundation with the singular focus of raising awareness about bullying, hate crimes and intolerance.
Joselo’s efforts center on building a sustainable outreach program that educates, challenges and persuades with the eventual goal leading to less hate-crimes on Long Island. Program components include presentations to audiences ranging from middle and high school students to members of faith communities to national conferences. Supporting materials used include videos, documentaries, powerpoint slides, photos and storytelling.
Since joining the Hagedorn Foundation in 2011, Joselo has presented to thousands of students, teachers, and community leaders, in addition to a dozen national conferences. His work has earned him regional and national recognition, including being a recipient of the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) Equality Award in 2010, being recognized by the Central American Refugee Center (CARECEN) in 2011, being named a 40 Under 40 Rising Star by the Hispanic Coalition of New York in 2012 and receiving the Joseph McNeil Award presented by the Bahá’í Race Unity Committee of Long Island in 2014. In 2020 he was selected as a Rotary Peace Fellow to study conflict resolution in Thailand. The experience of meeting other committed community advocates from around the world increased his motivation to make a positive impact on Long Island.
He has been invited to present at several national conferences such as; W.K. Kellogg's Foundation America Healing conference in North Carolina from 2010-2013; the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators in New Mexico in 2012; New York State Union of Teachers annual conference and the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Annual conferences in Texas in 2013, and 2015 in DC.
Joselo’s powerful personal message has drawn the attention of local and regional events, among them the Black Student Network conference at Teachers College in New York City, the Nassau and Suffolk County Human Rights conferences, the Long Island Language Advocates Coalition (LILAC) at Touro Law Center, the New York State Union of Teachers (NYSUT) Anti-Bullying conference in Albany, and the Center on the Holocaust, Diversity and Human Understanding in partnership with Suffolk County Community College.
Joselo is also a continuos supporter several organizations and their efforts to promote intercultural dialogue. The Turkish Cultural Center, Facing History and Ourselves, the Rotary Club, LIFE Through My Eyes digital narrative youth program and United Nations Plural + youth video festival. In addition, funds several local scholarships in his brother's name.