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Stereotyping and Bullying, 21st-Century Style

A salon at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford, May 10, 2012

Commission on Children Executive Director Elaine Zimmerman (left) and True Colors Inc. Executive Director Robin McHaelen.

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For the Spring of 2012, the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford held a series of public discussions, or salons, on the topic, "Stereotypes: Designed to Degrade." The May 10 salon specifically concerned bullying. The guest speakers were Elaine Zimmerman, executive director of the Connecticut Commission on Children, and Robin McHaelen, executive director of True Colors Inc., a nonprofit organization that works on behalf of sexual- and gender-minority youth. Before an audience of about 50, they discussed the programs, tools, and interventions that can combat bullying and empower young people.

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the 1852 anti-slavery novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," a work that galvanized the abolition movement and contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War. Her home in Hartford now houses the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, which aims to follow Stowe's example by identifying and addressing contemporary issues of social justice.

"Harriet Beecher Stowe inspires us to believe in our own ability to effect change. Her life demonstrates one person's ability to make a difference. Stowe changed public perception of a young nation's divisive issue, slavery, using her words to change the world. Her example is as important today as it was in her time."—Harriet Beecher Stowe Center website

Video

Part 1 of 3: Elaine Zimmerman

Part 2 of 3: Robin McHaelen

Part 3 of 3: Elaine Zimmerman and Robin McHaelen

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This page was last updated: July 18, 2012