After reviewing the research and hearing from local Orange County teachers who are teaching Ethnic Studies courses, the Orange County Human Relations Commission sees incredible potential for this curriculum in our local schools and with our students. We support classes that affirm the important, yet underrepresented, histories of our students and their communities as well as the contributions they have made to this country
Read more →OC Human Relations found that reports of hate crimes in Orange County rose 10% in 2015. The most frequent target, according to the tally, was the LGBT community with 11 incidents, four of them aimed at people who are transgender. Hate incidents increased dramatically, from 14 in 2014 to 43 in 2015, mainly targeting Muslims and those thought to be Muslim, including the Sikh community.
Read more →Over the course of two evenings in late July 2016, Joyce Sanchez and Norma López of OC Human Relations Community Building team, conducted a Restorative Circle Facilitator Training at the Islamic Society of Orange County. Its purpose was to train community leaders to lead Community Building/Healing circles in their respective communities in light of recent violent events in the United
Read more →Members of the Orange County Sheriff Department’s Interfaith Advisory Council – – a key project of the OC Human Relations Commission represented by 51 members and 16 religions and denominations –, sat down at Christ Our Redeemer African American Episcopal Church to talk to about the issues that concern them the most today – race, religion, fair policing and implicit bias.
Read more →Complaints involving hate incidents against Muslims in California grew by 58 percent in 2015 compared to the year prior, with Orange County tallying the most complaints in the state, according to a report released Monday by the Council of American-Islamic Relations. CAIR’s report is deeply disturbing, said Rusty Kennedy, executive director of the Orange County Human Relations Commission.
Read more →We are deeply disturbed by the recent killing of police officers and individuals and send our condolences to their families and friends. We hold on to our belief in the power of nonviolence leading the way to needed reconciliation and justice in our country.
Read more →The Anti-Defamation League’s 2015 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, released June 22, shows California near the top of the list of states with the most hate incidents, second only to New York.
Read more →In an opinion piece, Rusty Kennedy, OC Human Relations CEO suggests that we are a stronger community when everyone is included. But we cannot just put out the welcome mat and expect that everyone will enter. We must reach out. We must listen. We must provide a safe place for everyone, but especially for those who have been shut out before.
Read more →The mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., early Sunday left the Orange County’s LGBT community heartbroken and trying to cope together through love. People gathered at Plaza Calle Cuatro in Santa Ana on Sunday evening and held rainbow signs – some heart-shaped – spelling out “Orlando unidos,” Spanish for united. They lit the foot of the plaza’s platform with candles.
Read more →Orange County Human Relations Commission 1300 S. Grand, Bldg B, Santa Ana, CA 92705 714-480-6570 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Alison Edwards 714-480-6573, alison@splash.ochumanrelations.org June 13, 2016 (Orange County, CA) – Today, when we look across the world, the nation and even across the room, we see pain and anguish in the eyes of our friends and neighbors. The feeling is
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