An anti-hate group honored a county employee, Stephen Blue, with an annual award that promotes tolerance in the community.
A ceremony will be held on Monday to honor Blue, manager of the Dane County Juvenile Delinquency Services, with the Alix Olson Award for the Promotion of a Tolerant and Just Community, according to Eric Kestin from the Equal Opportunities Division of the Department of Civil Rights.
According to the Alix Olson Award application form, the award recognizes a person, group or organization in Dane County or South Central Wisconsin that has worked to promote tolerance and justice in the community.
The award is presented by the Seeking Tolerance and Justice Over Hate, an anti-hate group.
Blue, who has served in the county for 35 years, was unavailable for comment due to work-related business.
A Madison Police Department statement statement said Blue is the driving force behind the Neighborhood
Intervention Program, which has been in place for 24 years.
According to the Dane County Department of Human Services website,
NIP “offers innovative Community Supervision Services and Early
Intervention Services to boys and girls ages 10-17 who are delinquent or
at risk for delinquency.”
The statement said Blue was nominated by his coworkers for his “truly heroic” works in the community.
According to the statement, the award will be held at the 2012 YWCA
Racial Justice Summit. Kestin said Blue will be awarded during a lunch
period at Monona Terrace.
Kestin said STAJOH is comprised of different agencies in the community.
The statement said the organization features representatives from the city of Madison, Dane County, Madison Metropolitan School District, the state of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin.
“Anyone can join,” Kestin said. “The point is to educate [the community] about hate crimes.”
Kestin said the group aims to teach the community what hate crimes are and how to combat them.
Kestin said STAJOH started around 2001. Alix Olson, a retired MPD detective, was a main founder of the group and did tremendous amounts of work in the area of hate crimes, he added.
According to the statement, Olson led many projects and alliances against hate crimes. Kestin said Olson even arranged for STAJOH members to attend training programs in California.
“When she retired, we wanted to honor her,” Kestin said.
