***MEDIA ALERT***
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 15, 2014
CONTACT:
Don Han
(714) 796-8361
don@splash.ochumanrelations.org
OC Human Relations YouthSpeak Contest Winners Announced
Loara High School junior awarded $500 scholarship to speak on May 8 at gala
“The time has come for us to finish the dream of equality for all. If we do as such, we will set off a chain reaction of action. We can… we must… we will make the dream of eliminating inequality, prejudice, intolerance, and discrimination of the Civil Rights Movement and Civil Rights Act… a reality”. So wrote Loara High School Junior, Andres Guerrero, in his award-winning YouthSpeak contest speech.
Guerrero, along with the other contest finalists, an eighth grader at Oxford Academy and a sophomore from Canyon High School, delivered their speeches at a reception for OC Human Relations Legacy Awards recipients. The judges, the members of OC Human Relations Commission and Board, had an extremely difficult time choosing a winner.
Guerrero was selected as the winner for 2014 and he will deliver his speech at OC Human Relations Legacy Awards gala, May 8, 2014 at the City National Grove of Anaheim. He and the runners-up will also have the opportunity to speak at upcoming OC Human Relations Walk In My Shoes youth conferences.
In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, OC Human Relations will present The Legacy Awards: Honoring Orange County’s Civil Rights Heroes, on May 8, 2014 at The City National Grove of Anaheim. This awards program will honor Orange County’s local civil rights icons as well as new generation of leaders who have been the beneficiaries of the Civil Rights Act and are continuing work in the civil rights arena in Orange County.
The Legacy Awards will honor individuals and groups who have made extraordinary contributions to Orange County by advocating for equal civil rights in education, employment, health, housing, immigration, justice, and labor, among others.
This special awards event continues OC Human Relations’ annual tradition of highlighting Orange County’s outstanding individuals who go above and beyond to make our community a better place for all of us to live, work and do business.
OC Human Relations is proud to partner with Title Sponsor Wells Fargo to present the Legacy Awards.
“Wells Fargo has a history rich in diversity. One of my favorite statements from our Vision & Values booklet is, ‘Proper respect must be shown to all—let them be men, women, or children, rich or poor, white or black—it must not be forgotten that the Company is dependent on these same people for its business.’ That statement is actually from our first booklet published in 1888. Since then we have only magnified our respect for all people by helping our team members, communities and customers thrive. We are proud to be strong partners with the Orange County Human Relations and to sponsor this year’s very special 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act dinner,” said Ben Alvarado, Wells Fargo Orange County Community Banking President.
Other Legacy Award sponsors (as of this date) include: Titanium Sponsors: Related California and Southern California Edison; Diamond Sponsors: Southern California Gas Company and Susan and John Reese; Gold Sponsors: Disneyland Resort, Anita Varela and Rusty Kennedy, Chevron, and the University of California, Irvine; Table Sponsors include: Charlene and Ralph Bauer, California Sikh Council, California State University, Fullerton, Carol Turpen, Crevier Family Fund, Christ Our Redeemer AME Church, Jim McQueen, North Orange County Community College District, Orange County’s Credit Union, St. Joseph Health Community Partnership Fund, Schools First Federal Credit Union, Sean Thomas and Dan Long, and the OC Department of Education. Individual tickets for the event are $200. For details about sponsorship opportunities, contact Barbara Hunt at (714) 834-7181 or barbara@splash.ochumanrelations.org or visit www.splash.ochumanrelations.org.
For more information about The Legacy Awards and any of the award recipients or to schedule interviews with the honorees, please contact Don Han at (714) 796-8361 or don@splash.ochumanrelations.org.
About OC Human Relations
Since 1971, OC Human Relations has worked to build bridges of understanding to promote a vision of our community where all people are valued and included and our diversity is realized as a source of strength. The Orange County Human Relations Council is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1991 for the purpose of developing and implementing proactive human relations programs in partnership with schools, corporations, cities, foundations and individuals. For more information, visit www.splash.ochumanrelations.org or call 714-567-7470. Connect with us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WeAreOneOC.
About the Civil Rights Act of 1964
The most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act, enacted on July 2, 1964, prohibits discrimination of all kinds based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The law also provides the federal government with the powers to enforce desegregation. It ended unequal application of voter registration requirements and racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public (known as “public accommodations”).
Click here to learn more about the YouthSpeak contest and watch a video of Andres delivering his speech.
