This timely event invites community members from all backgrounds to reflect on the urgent challenges facing our society and to explore pathways toward empathy, understanding, and lasting social change.

Ten days after 9/11, Rais Bhuiyan survived a brutal hate crime in Dallas, Texas, when a white supremacist shot him at point-blank range. His remarkable journey from victim to advocate led him to launch a global campaign to save his attacker from death row, ultimately inspiring the man to renounce his hateful views. Since then, Rais has dedicated his life to preventing hate and violence through restorative justice, storytelling, bridge-building, and empathy education. His story is chronicled in The True American: Murder and Mercy in Texas by Anand Giridharadas, a New York Times Notable Book. Rais was invited by President Biden to share his story at the 2022 United We Stand Summit at the White House and worked with the Obama Administration’s Domestic Policy Council on efforts to counter hate and extremism. Rais has received numerous acknowledgements for his work, including the 2011 Americans of the Year by Esquire Magazine. He is the founder of World Without Hate, a nonprofit dedicated to disrupting cycles of hate and violence through empathy education and storytelling.

Mark Wright is an award-winning journalist, communications strategist, and community leader dedicated to advancing empathy and understanding through storytelling. For 35 years, Mark worked in broadcast journalism, including a distinguished career as evening news anchor for KING 5 (NBC) in Seattle. He focused on stories that explored the human experience, resilience, and the forces shaping communities. Mark is a four-time Emmy Award winner and was inducted into the Edward R. Murrow College Hall of Achievement at Washington State University. He was also part of the KING 5 team, honored with the prestigious Scripps Howard Award for Facing Race, a groundbreaking series examining systemic racism and racial inequity in America. Today, Mark continues that work through podcasting and nonprofit leadership. He serves as Board Chair of World Without Hate, a nonprofit dedicated to combating hate and building empathy through education, storytelling, and immersive experiences. He also helped launch the podcast DEIAF, hosted by diversity and inclusion leader Amelia Ransom, and co-hosts Fat Science with Dr. Emily Cooper, a podcast ranked in the top 1% globally.

Presented by Town Hall Seattle and World Without Hate.

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