Supported by a grant from the Open Society Foundations

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Take the #HateFreeOC Pledge!

#HateFreeOC is OC Human Relations’ public education and awareness campaign designed to cultivate a hate-free environment in Orange County, bring diverse communities together, and promote a safe, peaceful, respectful, and inclusive community for ALL of us to live, work, go to school and do business.
Over the last year we have witnessed increased prejudice and hate expressed across the U.S., particularly against Mexicans, Muslims, immigrants, and women. As some people began to feel more and more emboldened to act on their hate-filled views, we have noticed a spike in local hate crimes and hate incidents in Orange County since November 2016.
At OC Human Relations, we believe everyone should live free of violence and discrimination. Watching hate activity escalate around us, we were moved to create the #HateFreeOC campaign to create a community standard that discourages hate and bigotry and supports OC Human Relations’ mission to build understanding and eliminate prejudice, intolerance and discrimination.

Members of OC Human Relations Board and staff join the cause

About #HateFreeOC

#HateFreeOC  is a public education and awareness campaign designed to:
• Cultivate a hate-free environment in Orange County
• Bring diverse communities together, and
• Promote a peaceful and inclusive community where everyone can thrive.
All Orange County residents want to live in a safe place where they feel respected for who they are.  This campaign sends the message that everyone deserves to live free from hate and violence.

It’s easy to think that hate crimes and hate incidents are far removed from our corner of the United States, but Orange County has seen a rise in crimes motivated by bias. The Know Hate campaign – a component of #HateFreeOC – exists to educate people about what hate is, who is affected, why they’re targeted and how to stop hate in its tracks. We invited four students to share the real stories of individuals who were targeted because of their race, religion, national origin and sexual orientation. For privacy purposes, the names in the stories have been changed. Click here to read more.
August 14, 2017: Read OC Human Relations’ statement on the hate-motivated violence in Charlottesville

 A sampling of  Hate Crimes committed during the past year:

  • Vandalism – swastika graffiti’s, N-word and anti-gay slurs painted on freeway overpass, gated community entrance, church walls and a vehicle.
  • Simple Assaults – a man harassed and pulled a hijab off a woman at a gas station; a man was attack at a park and his jacket was spray painted with a swastika symbol; a man followed and grabbed a hijab of a young Muslim woman and hit her in the face with his metal water bottle.
  • Criminal Threats – a manager at a local business received multiple phone calls with derogatory remarks toward the employee’s Hispanic heritage and threats to shoot him; a Jewish school received a phone call with a bomb threat and the school was evacuated.
  • Aggravated Assault – after harassing an Asian male with racial slurs, a male and female assaulted him.
  • Harassment – a family was harassed with derogatory remarks about their adopted son’s ethnicity.

Examples of hate incidents over the past year:

  • A Muslim community organization in Anaheim has received numerous hate speech emails and voicemails directed at the Muslim community
  • A Latino gardener was harassed by his client’s neighbor and was told to go back to his country.
  • An African American middle school student was taunted by two white high school students with racial jokes and shown a picture of a noose with a comment that he should be hung.
  • Middle-eastern and Latina sale clerks at a retailer store were verbally abused with racist epithets by a customer.  The customer told the clerks that she hated their kind and she wanted a white sale clerk to assist her.

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In the face of hate, the Commission asserts that we are made strong by our diversity and we cannot let ourselves be pitted against one another based on race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, immigration status, disability, or politics.

– Becky Esparza, Chair, OC Human Relations Commission

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Anyone can take part in #HateFreeOC! It’s all about RESPECT. Learn it. Live it. Lead it.

About Hate Crimes 

Learn about Orange County’s Civil Rights History

Watch a video of 50 years of the Civil Rights Act in Orange County:

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The Commission commits to upholding our mission and condemns discrimination by promoting inclusion, cultural awareness, and mutual understanding. We invite the community to: join us in approaching each other’s differences with curiosity and openness; embrace a sense of compassion for targeted groups and people; and respect each other’s differences.

– Rabbi Rick Steinberg, Vice-Chair, OC Human Relations Commission

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Take the Pledge

Attend an Event

Mediate

Take Action

Tell your story!

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Get Involved

Training

Curriculum & Activities

Share Your Story 

Become a Partner

Support #HateFreeOC as a Sponsor and Join Our Supporters

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Through #HateFreeOC, we urge those who work in our communities and neighborhoods – law enforcement, places of worship, schools, businesses, community organizations, and leaders of all ages – to do their part to promote a safe community for ALL.