Counter the Backlash
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As communities across the country organize in response to cascading anti-refugee rhetoric and policies, the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) has issued a report, Countering the Backlash: Strategies for Responding to Anti-Refugee and Xenophobic Activity from the New South, with support from the J.M. Kaplan Fund.
Despite having a small, albeit quickly growing, foreign-born population and little progressive infrastructure, immigrant communities and advocates in Tennessee succeeded in preventing most regressive legislation from becoming law and found ways to turn the tide. What happened in Tennessee is a story of hope and resiliency, demonstrating that, even in the most hostile environment communities can respond to legislative and rhetorical threats as an opportunity to organize, build power, and develop the capacity to shift the political climate. Countering the Backlash offers lessons learned and recommendations for organizations across the country that are working to defend refugee resettlement, combat Islamophobia, and build more welcoming communities.