Orange County Residents Share Stories at “Listening Session”

Orange County Residents Share Stories at "Listening Session"

On Saturday, December 8, OC Human Relations Commission, along with Christ Our Redeemer AME Church, West Coast Christian Tabernacle, New Spirit Baptist Church, OC NAACP, Dr. Thomas Parham, and the Thurgood Marshall Bar Association invited African-American community members to share their stories, challenges, and celebrations of living in Orange County. The “Listening Session” was prompted by the experiences of an

Read more

Rossmoor ‘acid bombs’ probed as hate crime by human rights group

Rossmoor 'acid bombs' probed as hate crime by human rights group

Authorities are investigating “acid bombs” — small explosives made from a compound of household chemicals — left on the lawn of an African American woman living in Rossmoor, Orange County sheriff’s officials said. A woman called law enforcement shortly after 7 a.m. Sunday to report that she had found several plastic bottles containing a blue liquid near the driveway of

Read more

Yorba Linda Family Targeted by Hate – The Commission Responds

Yorba Linda Family Targeted by Hate - The Commission Responds

UPDATE: December 10, 2012: Read news reports of the December 8 “Listening Session” UPDATE: November 28, 2012 The OC Human Relations Commission has scheduled One in a series of “Listening Sessions” on African American life in Orange County for 9am, Saturday, December 8, 2012 at Irvine’s Christ Our Redeemer (COR) Church… Read More UPDATE: November 26, 2012 November 20, 2012

Read more

Walk In My Shoes 2012

Walk In My Shoes 2012

Over 600 students and teachers from schools across Orange County attended the day-long Walk In My Shoes youth conference, November 16, at the University of California, Irvine. The conference was emceed by students Candice Brown of Cypress High School, Ralex Gutierrez of Magnolia High School and Moon Pankam of Capistrano Valley High School. The morning keynote speech was delivered by

Read more

Teaching Tolerance Helps Fight Hate

Teaching Tolerance Helps Fight Hate

By DAVID WHITING, COLUMNIST THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER October 18, 2012 Tattoos tell stories, whether on the arm of a Holocaust survivor or a white supremacist. The faded black number on Ester Bershtel’s left arm testifies to one woman’s strength to escape the horrors of Auschwitz. The number “14” on Wade Michael Page’s left shoulder testifies to a national resurgence

Read more

“I Am Part of a Movement”

"I Am Part of a Movement"

A couple of months ago, I walked into a strange room not knowing what I would encounter. I saw strange but friendly faces, a “melting pot” of a variety of people. They were different ethnicities, different religions and different cultures. After the first 15 minutes went by, a new vibe dispersed over us. Everyone was talking as if they had

Read more

OC Human Relations and the Anaheim Situation

Since the first shooting, an OC Human Relations team has been responding daily to the evolving situation in Anaheim. We have been communicating with Los Amigos, LULAC, OCCCO, OCCORD and other community groups. In addition, the team met with Anaheim Police Chief Welter, his Captains, communications staff, and the City Manager, working with them to understand all that they are

Read more

O.C. Vigil Remembers Those Killed in Sikh Temple Attack

OC Human Relations Commission was proud to co-sponsor the August 9, 2012 interfaith rememberance for the 6 Sikhs murdered by a White Supremacist in Wisconsin. “Evil is something that happens to everybody,” said Timothy Kowal of Huntington Beach, a lawyer who sits on the Orange County Human Relations Commission. “We want to let minority segments of the community know that

Read more