By Dianne Anderson

Once again front and center, Inland Empire leaders are teaming up to talk about the next line of defense against increased hate crimes, not just at the ignorant racism and ethnicity levels, but all the way up the line to state and national policy and laws.

Assemblymember Dr. Corey Jackson is featured in an upcoming event “How Does the IE Strike Back Against Hate?” He said it is a crucial opportunity to come together, discuss, and strategize on combating hate in our community.

“I am eager to engage in dialogue that will further our community’s efforts in combating hate in the Inland Empire and across California. Together, let’s unite to amplify our voices and take decisive action against hate,” said Dr. Jackson, representing the 60th Assembly District.

On Tuesday, July 16, the issues will be addressed at the free public program with the nonprofit Zócalo Public Square, held at 6:30 PM at UCR ARTS in Downtown Riverside. Candice Mays of Mapping Black California is also featured on the panel, along with Luis Nolasco with the ACLU.

Assembly Member Dr. Corey Jackson

Nolasco said their local ACLU office is seeing a vast array of civil rights issues in the Inland Empire, from First Amendment-protected speech to the rights of LGBQT youth in schools, to the rights of incarcerated individuals.

There is no shortage of concerns.

Among them, two ongoing capital punishment cases against Black men are addressing the historic anti-Black racism in Riverside County, which contend that the Riverside District Attorney’s decision to pursue death in their cases comes in the context of implicit and institutional racism, which is now illegal under new California Law the Racial Justice Act.

“Over the course of Riverside County’s history, Black people have been over represented in murder charges and capital sentences, compared to white people with similar facts and circumstances,” said Luis Nolasco, a senior community engagement and policy advocate at the ACLU of Southern California.

In the past, the ACLU also worked closely with Dr. Jackson in a 2018 lawsuit against Riverside County’s YAT, Youth Accountability Team program, where Jackson was lead in the settlement to restore constitutional rights to wrongly criminalized teens. That settlement provided $1.4 million over five years starting in 2020-21 to support local community-based organizations through an RFP process.

Nolasco said their civil liberties organizations continue to advocate for policies at local and state levels. Their core issues are preserving First Amendment and free speech, rights around LGBTQ, reproductive, immigrant voting rights, student rights, education equity, criminal justice and economic justice issues.

While the ACLU does not work directly on hate crimes, he said they work with community organizations that can guide and support individuals through concerns or complaints to take action against hate.

“The best way is for people to build community and to educate each other about current pressing issues. We can fight back against hate if we are unified and actively engaged,” said Nolasco in an email. “We encourage if you aren’t already to get involved with the ACLU or any other local community organization to fight back against hate and work towards a more just and inclusive Inland Empire.”

As part of California Humanities’ series “What Connects Us, Resilience Against Hate,” the event is in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities-supported United We Stand initiative to leverage humanities and the arts to battle hate-motivated violence.

Rick Noguchi, the organization’s president and CEO, said engaging the community’s concerns around equity, empathy and understanding is critical in these times.

“The humanities-based projects that we support through our grantmaking provide opportunities for communities to come together and learn, and become more enlightened about the range of perspectives in California,” he said.

From the mid-1970s when their nonprofit started, the program emphasized the importance of addressing racism, hate, and structural barriers in highlighting and uplifting the community’s untold stories. He said it helps shift state and national perspectives.

“We want Californians whose stories have not been told to tell their stories to address being seen as the ‘other,’ which is what drives hate. By providing spaces and opportunities for these stories to be heard and discussed, we can redefine the concept of what an American is and looks like,” he said.

Kerri Young, spokesperson for the organization, said they combat hate by supporting programs and projects that increase  BIPOC community visibility, including last year’s grantee project Homegrown Heroes: Inland Empire Civil Rights Activists, led by the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California.

She said that project is grounded on interviews with local civil rights leaders around race and ethnicity, gender, national origin, sexual orientation and gender identity, and disability. Recorded oral histories will be available for content for short films and a public exhibition coming up this year to address civil rights activism in the Inland communities.

Efforts are also in response to rising hate crimes, which FBI reports have increased by 80% since 2015, and in 2021, reached record levels.

The data also shows that hate crimes against racial groups spike in an unmistakable pattern around the same time as general elections, she said.

“With the much-anticipated 2024 elections on the horizon, participating in United We Stand, an initiative of the White House, ensures that we are connecting with policymaking at the federal, state, and local levels to leverage the power of the humanities to promote understanding, empathy, and resilience,” she said.

Community action is the best kind of action wherever they live, she said. Their project encourages people to participate in public humanities programming, create festivals, encourage discussions, and workshops.

“We want all people to feel safe and have a sense of belonging in their own communities to be empowered to speak up against hate. The humanities enable people to engage in civic dialogue, listen, and critically think about their experiences as humans. We need to learn how to respect and appreciate differences and embrace commonalities,” she said.

To RSVP for the event, see https://bit.ly/3W43eWy

To see ACLU’s position on Systemic Racism, see
https://www.aclu.org/news/racial-justice/ending-systemic-racism-requires-ensuring-systemic-equality

https://calhum.org/