Los Angeles Kicks Off ‘United Against Hate Week’ with a Call to Action in Watts
Christopher Alam | Al Enteshar Al arabi Newspaper
Last Friday, Los Angeles celebrated the inauguration of ‘United Against Hate Week’ at the iconic Watts Train Station. Spearheaded by alliances including LA vs Hate, Not In Our Town, CA vs Hate, and Stop the Hate, this initiative is part of a broader national movement that calls upon communities to stand against racism, discrimination, and implicit biases.
The press event highlighted contributions from over 60 community-based organizations across LA County, alongside local political figures. The gathering began with remarks from Daude Sherrills, Executive Director of Build Plus Community Marketplace, a non-profit dedicated to economic development in Watts, who also hosted the venue.
“This is an important subject regarding hate, due to a lot of high crises in inflation and cost of living, it’s causing bad feelings among all of us, but this shouldn’t be a reason to hate one another,” said Sherrills. “This should be a time where people like us, we’re all pulling ourselves together as a collective to better serve those who are most in need of help.”
Originating from a 2017 Bay Area initiative in response to white supremacist activities, ‘United Against Hate Week’ now encompasses multiple regions. While typically observed in November, the event was preponed to September this year to align with the UN International Day of Peace and pre-election activities, which often intensify societal strains.
Robin Toma, who heads the LA County Human Relations Commission and the LA vs Hate initiative, emphasized the importance of this year’s timing. “We knew this special election year would likely exacerbate hate, division, and hostility. Moving the campaign to September was strategic, not only to align with international peace efforts but to foster unity and reflection on what that means during election times,” he stated.
Central to the week’s events is the ‘Vote Against Hate’ initiative, an apolitical campaign designed to boost civic engagement by encouraging voters to support measures that protect diverse communities from discrimination and hate.
“We have to know that who we vote for, what we vote for, makes a difference in terms of whether hate continues to rise or not in our communities,” said Toma.
Recent statistics from the LA County Human Relations Commission show a distressing trend: hate crimes in the county surged by 18% in 2023, the second-largest increase in over two decades, with a 143% rise since 2013.
“You have to know, some of that additional reported hate, is actually because we’re having success in getting more people to report hate,” Toma added. “We’ve long known that hate is so severely underreported. It might be at least double, but maybe 20-30 times more hate is happening than is actually reported to the FBI.”
Since its inception in 2019, LA vs Hate has documented over 2,700 hate incidents, with more than 800 reported in the last year alone. Local resident Frank Aguirre shared his personal encounter with hate crime, highlighting how the 2-1-1 hotline provided crucial support that helped him move to a safer environment. “They were there for me from day one till today… Now, I’m in a better place, there’s more comfort,” Aguirre shared.
Supervisor Holly Mitchell addresses the crowd at the inauguration of ‘United Against Hate Week’
George Gascon, District Attorney of Los Angeles County, spoke about leading the state in hate crime prosecutions and his office’s adoption of a “restorative justice model” which focuses on community repair through education and engagement.
“We will prosecute aggressively…but we wanna also make sure we work with our Human Rights Commission, with all the partners in the space, so that perhaps one day when we are having a conference like this, we’re talking about the fact that we haven’t had this cancer continue to grow in our community,” Gascon stated.
Kevin Kish, Director of the California Civil Rights Department, discussed the ‘California vs Hate’ campaign, a pioneering state-wide effort to combat hate through a designated hotline, which has already received reports from 80% of California counties in its first year.
“These reports often lead to substantial support for the victims, ranging from housing and financial assistance to legal aid and mental health services,” said Kish.
Supervisor Holly Mitchell and members of the Stop the Hate network emphasized the critical work being undertaken to confront and dismantle white supremacist ideologies.
“We have a responsibility to check our own bias, we all have it, let’s just be honest, implicit or otherwise, and we certainly have a responsibility to not pass it to the next generation. We have the power to end it here and now. That’s what LA vs Hate is all about, that’s what this week gives us the opportunity to talk about,” Mitchell asserted.
Author, actor, and podcaster Christopher Rivas spoke, whose book Brown Enough received a grant from LA vs Hate to promote literacy with LA County students. He read from this work and his new book Engaged Liberation:
“The only way the cycle ends is to recognize your liberation is not separate from mine. Mine from yours, I need you to get free so that I can get free. Small and large it is only one unity, and we have the chance to enter it together.”
Executive Director of the LA County Human Relations Commission, Robin Toma
Capri Maddox, the head of the Los Angeles City Department of Civil + Human Rights and Equity, reminded people of the importance of always reporting discrimination to the city. That can be done through the 2-1-1 and 3-1-1 hotlines, as well as laisforeveryone.com.
After reporting an incident, victims can be connected to anti-hate services provided by local organizations. These organizations receive state funding through the Stop the Hate grant. The range of services includes legal and mental health support, long-term counseling, safe spaces for youth, senior safety classes, and cross-racial dialogues. Project Director of the Stop the Hate Grant, Kiran Bhalla, emphasized the need to maintain these programs in the current climate,
“These programs are making a difference at a time when hate is increasing. We may not see hate crimes at the top of the headlines these days but given the historic nature of our current rhetoric and the way that plays out in our streets and schools, it’s imperative that we continue to fund these critical programs in the long haul.”
The week is packed with activities aimed at fostering dialogue and understanding. Highlights include a virtual workshop by Black Women for Wellness on the impact of banned books in social movements and a panel hosted by the Los Angeles Outpatient Center discussing the underreporting of hate crimes with insights from mental health professionals. A full schedule of events is available on the LA vs Hate website.
Executive Director of the City Department of Civil Human Rights and Equity, Capri Maddox
This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
