COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

COMMISSION ON HUMAN RELATIONS

July 2003-June 2005 ANNUAL REPORT

The following are brief descriptions of key 2003-2005 Commission projects, from July, 2003 to June, 2005, by subject areas and a list of additional projects.

1. = HATE C= RIME ACTIVITIES

In 2003, = the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission participated in a number of interesting projects, including the launching of the zerohour: The time to act is now!” yo= uth, anti-discrimination campaign, an educational campaign on the Racial Privacy Initiative (Proposition 54), assistance to the City of Inglewood during the Donovan Jackson trial, and the development of an anti-hate information line= .

The first= urgent issue in 2003 was the multi-agency effort to prevent violence in Los Angeles County resulting from the verdicts in the Inglewood police trial of Officer Jeremy Morse. The white officer was on trial for criminal misconduct against 16-ye= ar old African-American, Donovan Jackson, who was videotaped being slammed aga= inst a car hood, and then punched by Officer Morse while handcuffed.

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The Commi= ssion put its Human Relation Mutual Assistance Consortium on alert, and formed at least three staff teams to support the Inglewood Ambassador teams on the da= y of the verdict. A media center, staffed by LAHRC and Department of Justice staffers was organized at the Inglewood Library Theatre.

The War in Iraq escalated in early 2003, and the Commission on Human Relations brought toge= ther its community partners, law enforcement officials and religious leaders, who announced a pledge to promote homeland security and freedom from hate and bigotry. A number of individu= als signed the pledge on March 2= 8, 2003, making sure that the message of tolerance and peace was shared with the many communities that compose the County of Los Angeles.

A record 188 hate crimes we= re suffered by members of the L.A. <= st1:PlaceType>County community who were Arab-American, Muslims, Sikhs, South Asians, or who look= ed Middle Eastern after 9/11. So= the pledge and the rumor control and information hotlines were important ways to ensure that hate crimes and hate incidents were kept to a minimum.

On the po= litical front, the issue of Proposition 54 loomed large in 2003, and the Commission= was asked to present a report on the issue to the Board of Supervisors on the impact of pending Proposition 54 legislation on the County.

Propositi= on 54 was intended to prohibit state and local governments from collecting, using= or analyzing data on race, ethnicity, or national origin, with certain limited exemptions. This would certai= nly have had grave impact on the County’s Annual Hate Crime Report, but it also had adverse impact on other county departments.

On July 29, 2003, the Los Ange= les County Board of Supervisors voted to “instruct all County Departments to work closely with the Commission on Human Relations to provide the public with information regarding the impacts of pending Proposition 54 legislation on = the County.” In response to= this mandate, the Human Relations Commission worked with county departments in an effort to determine the impact Proposition 54 would have on county departme= nts, if the initiative passed as a result of the October 7, 2003 ballot.

The Commission’s efforts to educate the public were successful and the ba= llot measure did not pass.

2. = HATE C= RIME SERVICES AND SYSTEMS

Since 198= 0, the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations (LACCHR) has compiled, analyzed and issued reports of hate crime data submitted by law enforcement agencies, school districts, fair housing councils, ethnic and religious organizations, and other concerned groups.= This report represents one of the longest-standing efforts to docume= nt hate crime activity in the nation.

The annua= l Hate Crime Report for 2003 revealed that there were 692 hate crimes, a 14% decre= ase from the 803 reported in 2002. This was the lowest number reported since 1991.

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This decl= ine was greater than the 10% drop in hate crime state-wide reported by the Office of the California Attorney General, and nationally as well: The FBI reported that during the s= ame year hate crimes increased slightly (less than 1%) from 7,462 to 7,489. Across the board, the number of re= ported hate crimes decreased for all targeted groups except for anti-Jewish crimes which, after a two year decline, hit a plateau.

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The Commi= ssion responded to neighborhood problems in unique ways. In the N= ormandale Park area, a plan of collaborat= ion between the Commission and government and community groups received wide recognition. The purpose of t= he plan was to assess the issues, and provide resources, coordination and creativity for problem-solving to the residents of the area.

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The Norma= ndale strategy called for law enforcement suppression action, balanced by a comprehensive community development program, which included an empowerment strategy for the people living in the community. The combined plan engaged members = of the community in a survey that identified criminal behavior and quality of life issues that were causing havoc in the area.

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While thi= s was taking place, hard core gang members were being incarcerated. Residents were educated on how to = ask for city services to clean up their neighborhoods, and all city departments focused on improving the target area within a 90-day period.

The Normandale Park project was recognized wit= h a commendation by the Los Angeles Police Commission, and two of the Commission’s sen= ior program specialists were among those honored. They are: Borden Olive and Ray Regalado.

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3. = ; HUMAN RELATIONS MUTUAL ASSISTAN= CE CONSORTIUM (HRMAC)

The 2003 = Human Relations Mutual Assistance Consortium took place at the Carson Community Center, and was co-sponsored by the Cities of Carson, Gardena, Hawthorne, Torrance, Inglewood and Lawndale. The annual event boasted a number = of speakers with special emphasis on the USA Patriot Act and the opponents and supporters of the Racial Classification Initiative, (Proposition 54).<= /o:p>

4. = CORPOR= ATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

The Corpo= rate Advisory Committee, a support group for the Commission, works to address diversity initiatives and multicultural awareness programs in the workplace. Through CAC, corpo= rate leaders from the public, private and non-profit sectors network on lessons learned, identification of resources and sharing of ideas to address multicultural relations issues on the job.= The CAC meets on a quarterly basis and works to support the Commissi= on in attaining its goals.

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5. MEDIA IMAGE COALITION:

The Media Image Coalition (= MIC) is an alliance of professional media associations, media associations, civil rights groups, human relations organizations, entertainment industry labor unions, religious organizations, academicians and concerned individuals committed to promoting fairness and balance in media depictions of all segm= ents of our society. In 2003-04, t= he membership organized letter-writing campaigns on various issues, and invited media executives to speak to the membership.&nbs= p; Among those invited were Jose Rios, Vice President and News Director= of KTTV/Fox 11, as well as Ms. Stacie de Armas, the director of Hispanic Services for Arbitron Inc.

6. NETWORK AGAINST HATE CRIMES

The Network meets on a quar= terly basis to share information and resources, tracks legislation and sponsors educational activities about preventing, investigating, prosecuting and responding to hate activity. = The Network promotes events that bring together diverse communities in public displays of opposition to hate crimes, and its members also have participat= ed in countywide community summits on hate crime.

In the 2003-2004 time frame= there was expanded outreach and education on hate crime through a partnership between= the Commission’s Hate Crime Victim Assistance and Advocacy Initiative and UPN/Fox to produce an award-winning PSA, movie theatre ads, and posters that together have reached millions of movie-goers and TV viewers, and ten of thousands of students at schools.

Six partner agencies worked= with the Commission on this project, and these included the Asian Pacific American Legal Center= , Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center, Muslim Public Affairs Council, South Asian Network and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Youth Empowerment Project.

The Commission continued to= host forums at different locations throughout the County. Some of the topics covered in the 2003-2004 were:

“When is violence against women a hate crim= e?
“A white supremacist speaks about his years= of experience in racist organizations”
“L.A. County Hate Crime in 2002: The Good = News and the Bad”
“Hate Crime Hoax in Po= mona”
“Stemming Violent Attacks on the Homeless”

Network partners were also = helpful when the Commission announced the inauguration of a rumor control and information hotline and web link to address hate crimes and hate incidents = as a result of the U.S. war on Iraq= . Through the toll- free hotline, 888 No-2-Hate (662-4283) and the webs= ite, www. LAhumanrelations.org, county residents were able to report hate ac= ts and incidents, get information about rumors, and request assistance.

The Commission also develop= ed an informational wallet card, which was given to law enforcement to be used by patrol officers. The handy, laminated card, can be kept in someone’s breast pocket, and includes telephone numbers for more than 14 agencies who can assist a hate crime victim. The cards were distri= buted to all police agencies within the County of Los Angeles.

7. MAPPING PROJECTS

8. SCHOOL INTERGROUP CONFLICT INITIATIVE (SICI)

The Coun= ty Human Relations Commission was extremely active in working with educators to quell school violence in the two-year period between July, 2003 and June, 2005.

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The Commi= ssion responded to racially-motivated violence and vandalism in communities around the county, such as in Hawaiian <= st1:PlaceType>Gardens, Antelope Valley and responded by creating special events to help unite a collaborative grou= p of government and community groups to assess issues, provide resources, and coordinate and create problem-solving solutions.

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Inter-ra= cial campus brawls made headlines at a variety of schools throughout the County:=

· At Washington Preparatory High School on March 27, 2003= , police were called to quell a riot on campus which started as a fight between Afri= can American and Latino students.

· In early 2004, the ACLU filed a lawsuit alle= ging discrimination and bias directed towards gay, lesbian, bisexual and transge= nder individuals at Washington Prep.

· Locke High School experienced a campus racial riot in Ap= ril, 2003, and has been the target of an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawsuit challenging reports of unlawful searches in classrooms.

· On November 18 and 19, 2004, violence between African American and Latino students at Jordan High School fueled a dangerous escalation in the ongoing tensions. The following week, a race-based fight disturbed the entire Markham Middle School campus, a feeder school to Jordan H= igh School.

The Commis= sion has worked closely with the Los Angeles Unified School District 7, and has offe= red a range of human relations programs, trainings and activities. Other agencies such as the U.S. Ju= stice Department’s Community Relations Service, the State Attorney General’s Community Relations Service, and the L.A. City Human Relati= ons Commission, along with other like-minded organizations and agencies have be= en involved in this effort.

In 2004, t= he Commission offered training to District 7 teachers, conducted by the Commission and Facing History and Ourselves, so that they could better integrate human relations knowledge and skills into their regular curriculum.

The Commis= sion also sponsored a Locke High School six week summer pilot project for a mixture of Latino and African American students. The students were taught to unders= tand each other’s culture, increased their communicative skills to one another, and concluded their summer experience with a trip to the Museum of Tolerance and a day’s outing at the beach.

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Another 20= 04 summertime project was the work done in conjunction with the Los Angeles Probation Department at Camp Gonzales in Malibu. The Commission worked with over 100 youth housed in the facility, ranging in age from 12 to 18.

Additionally, in 2004 the Commission = worked intensely with the William S. Hart= School District= and brought a “Horizon Line= 221;, a thought-provoking one-man play on racism to Valencia High.

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The Commis= sion is also part of a diverse group who, in 2004, began to work in the = ABC Unified School District, thanks to a $5.6 million dollar three-year grant which targets the 30 schoo= ls in that area with more intensive hate crime prevention activities. The Commission worked with the InterAgency Gang Task Force in providing technical assistance that resulted= in the grant. The money will offer intensive, comprehensive programs, including a teen center and human relati= ons training. The Commission̵= 7;s role will be specifically directed to 9^th and 10^th graders at individual high schools. These students participate in interactive educational experiences designed to help understand and respect their own and other’s racial = and cultural identities. This is = done through experiential exercises and through the practice of cross-cultural conflict resolution skills and strategies.

The goals = of the multi-year grant will be to create and maintain safe school environments, reduce student use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs reduce youth violenc= e, increase the availability of mental health services, increase social-emotio= nal learning opportunities for young children, effective inter-agency coordinat= ion of strategies to prevent and respond to substance abuse, and to develop a collaborative plan that can sustain the overarching mission.

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The Commi= ssion also began to actively work with teachers, to provide them with strategies = to promote academic success for their students, to promote acceptance among diverse students, and to make connections in the Language A= rts curriculum and standards. One= of the training forums, dedicated to this end, occurred on Saturday, October 9, 2004, when Linda Christensen, a co-director of the Oregon Writing Project = at Lewis and Clark Co= llege and a published author on the teaching of language skills, taught teachers = at an all-day USC School of Education series.

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9. JOHN ANSON FORD AWARDS=

The John = Anson Ford Awards event recognizes human relations county leaders each year, and re-emphasizes the values of the late John Anson Ford.

2003:

The 2003 = 59^th Anniversary Celebration of the John Anson Ford Human Relations Award was celebrated on October 16, 2= 003 at the Los Angeles Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

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Receiving= the Commission’s John Allen Buggs Leadership Award was Gordon Davidson, t= he former producer of the Center Theatre Group. The Commission’s “Courage” award winners were the co-creators of the NBC drama The West Wing and veteran broadcast journalist Tony Valdez, for h= is journalistic efforts in the Los Angeles arena.

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The Corpo= rate Award went to Sempra Energy, because of the corporation’s concerted efforts to be sensitive to the needs of its diverse workforce.

The five supervisory district awards went to: DreamYard L.A., a non-profit arts education organization working with at-risk and incarcera= ted youth; the Watts Labor Community Education Action Committee, a non-profit community-based organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for South Central Los Angeles residents; Commander Lynda Castro of the West Hollywood Sheriff̵= 7;s Department; the International Cultural Exchange Association, for its work in bringing people from different cultures together, and Drs. David L. and Jacqueline Jacobs, for their work as life-long educators to the communities= of Pasadena.

2004:

In 2004, = the John Anson Ford Human Relations Awards took place at the Cathedral Plaza, and the annual event celebrated the Commission’s 60 years of working to achieve a more harmonious environment for Angelinos.

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The list = of recipients included: Father G= reg Boyle, SJ, the head of Homeboy Industries.= Father Boyle received the “John Allen Buggs” Award, beca= use of his critically important work with gang members.

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Sonia Naz= ario, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist on the Los Angeles Times staff was honored with the “Courage” award for her series, “Enrique’s Journey.”

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The five supervisory district winners represented broad panoply of work in the human relations sector:

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In the fi= rst district, the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation was honored for its Cesar E. Chavez Service Learning Initiative. = The Children’s Enrichment program was the second district‘s choice = for its after-school program work. The Gay-Straight Alliance Network, a group that empowers gay activists to fight homophobia in schools was the third district’s honoree. The Freedom Writers, a project sta= rted by teacher Erin Gruwell, a decade ago, has received international recogniti= on for transforming the lives of students through the written word. In the fifth district, ArtsSourced-Pros provide art instruction and human relations skills to youngsters in the pub= lic school.

10. INTERFAITH LEADERSHIP<= /p>

In March,= 2003, faith-based leaders of Los Angeles County met with the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations to find ways = in which religious groups can address interfaith peace-building in practical w= ays.

The all-d= ay event took place at the University of <= st1:PlaceName>Southern California Center for Religion and Civic Cult= ure, in the Leonard Davis Auditorium.

The follo= wing year, in October, 2004 the Commission joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Clergy Council in a half-day conference designed to establi= sh dialogue between the Latino and African-American communities, with the goal= of reducing the rising tensions between the two groups.

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11. YOUTH PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN (ZEROHOUR: The Time to Act is= Now!)

The youth anti-discrimination campaign called “zerohour: the time to act is now! was launched in December 2003. It was a multi-tiered p= rogram: 1) a public education campaign that challenges youth to get involved; (2) training and education for youth, teachers, parents and school communities through “Get Real LA!,” the first-ever countywide coalition of youth-serving organizations focused on countering bigotry and prejudice in = the schools; and (3) youth Campus Action Teams or CATS, human relations clubs t= hat brings together students from schools experiencing intergroup tensions to b= uild their capacity around human relations issues.

The ̶= 0;Get Real LA!” coalition organized a “zerohour” human relations training conference in March 2006 that hosted 200 students comprising teams from 30 high schools, and provided school-based trainings in self-identity, combating bigotry and racism, hate crime, cross-cultural understanding, peer mediation, homophobia and sexism.

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The campa= ign included the production of “reality shoot” TV public service announcements and wild postings that resulted in more than 280,000 unique h= its on the zerohour.com website. Over 1, 800 youths signed on to he= lp fight discrimination and hate; movie theatre ads were seen by over 5.9 mill= ion, and over $1.3 million has been donated in services and grant funding. Movie theater ads were seen by more than 5.9 million, and more than $1.3 million = was donated in services and grant funding.

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The Youth Advisory Council Team for the Commission ushered in the “zerohour” campaign with an anti-hate CD, “Confessions of the Discriminated,” a musical jou= rney into their personal experiences in dealing with discrimination, harassment = and bullying. Musical artists Ozo= matli, Fertile Soil and 2-Sharp contributed tracks to the CD. The release party of the CD was he= ld September 25, 2003.

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In 2004, = the work became more focused on schools, students and teachers. The “Get Real LA!” coa= lition organized a “zerohour”= human relations training conference in March, 2004. The Conference hosted more than 200 students, comprising teams from 30 high schools, and provided school-based trainings in self-identity, combating bigotry and racism, hate crime, cross-cultural understanding, peer mediation, homophobia and sexism.

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Other zerohour events held in 2004 incl= uded the declaration by the Board of Supervisors that June 16^th was zerohour Day L.A. That evening a Rock the Vote, zerohour Day L.A. Con= cert was held at the Avalon concert hall. Headliners included Joss Stone, Ozomatli, Wicked Wisdom and 213, a g= roup composed of Snoop Dogg, Warren G., and Nate Dogg.

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Another 2= 004 summertime activity was the Locke= High School inter-group project to bring understan= ding among Black and Latino students through a series of exercises that centered= on discussion of culture and its impact on an individual, and how a lack of understanding= can lead to conflict.