The following are brief descriptions of key 2003-2005 Commission projects, from July, 2003 to June, 2005, by subject areas and a list of additional projects.

1. HATE CRIME ACTIVITIES

The first urgent issue in 2003 was the multi-agency effort to prevent violence in Los Angeles County resulting from the verdicts in the Inglewood police trial of Officer Jeremy Morse. The white officer was on trial for criminal misconduct against 16-year old African-American, Donovan Jackson, who was videotaped being slammed against a car hood, and then punched by Officer Morse while handcuffed.

The War in Iraq escalated in early 2003, and the Commission on Human Relations brought together its community partners, law enforcement officials and religious leaders, who announced a pledge to promote homeland security and freedom from hate and bigotry. A number of individuals signed the pledge on March 28, 2003, making sure that the message of tolerance and peace was shared with the many communities that compose the County of Los Angeles.

A record 188 hate crimes were suffered by members of the L.A. County community who were Arab-American, Muslims, Sikhs, South Asians, or who looked Middle Eastern after 9/11. So the pledge and the rumor control and information hotlines were important ways to ensure that hate crimes and hate incidents were kept to a minimum.

On the political front, the issue of Proposition 54 loomed large in 2003, and the Commission was asked to present a report on the issue to the Board of Supervisors on the impact of pending Proposition 54 legislation on the County.

Proposition 54 was intended to prohibit state and local governments from collecting, using or analyzing data on race, ethnicity, or national origin, with certain limited exemptions. This would certainly have had grave impact on the County's Annual Hate Crime Report, but it also had adverse impact on other county departments.

On July 29, 2003, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to "instruct all County Departments to work closely with the Commission on Human Relations to provide the public with information regarding the impacts of pending Proposition 54 legislation on the County." In response to this mandate, the Human Relations Commission worked with county departments in an effort to determine the impact Proposition 54 would have on county departments, if the initiative passed as a result of the October 7, 2003 ballot. The Commission's efforts to educate the public were successful and the ballot measure did not pass.

2. HATE CRIME SERVICES AND SYSTEMS

This decline was greater than the 10% drop in hate crime state-wide reported by the Office of the California Attorney General, and nationally as well: The FBI reported that during the same year hate crimes increased slightly (less than 1%) from 7,462 to 7,489. Across the board, the number of reported hate crimes decreased for all targeted groups except for anti-Jewish crimes which, after a two year decline, hit a plateau.

The Commission responded to neighborhood problems in unique ways. In the Normandale Park area, a plan of collaboration between the Commission and government and community groups received wide recognition. The purpose of the plan was to assess the issues, and provide resources, coordination and creativity for problem-solving to the residents of the area.

The Normandale strategy called for law enforcement suppression action, balanced by a comprehensive community development program, which included an empowerment strategy for the people living in the community. The combined plan engaged members of the community in a survey that identified criminal behavior and quality of life issues that were causing havoc in the area.

While this was taking place, hard core gang members were being incarcerated. Residents were educated on how to ask for city services to clean up their neighborhoods, and all city departments focused on improving the target area within a 90-day period.

The Normandale Park project was recognized with a commendation by the Los Angeles Police Commission, and two of the Commission's senior program specialists were among those honored. They are: Borden Olive and Ray Regalado.

3. HUMAN RELATIONS MUTUAL ASSISTANCE CONSORTIUM (HRMAC)

4. CORPORATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

5. MEDIA IMAGE COALITION:

6. NETWORK AGAINST HATE CRIMES

In the 2003-2004 time frame there was expanded outreach and education on hate crime through a partnership between the Commission's Hate Crime Victim Assistance and Advocacy Initiative and UPN/Fox to produce an award-winning PSA, movie theatre ads, and posters that together have reached millions of movie-goers and TV viewers, and ten of thousands of students at schools.

Six partner agencies worked with the Commission on this project, and these included the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center, Muslim Public Affairs Council, South Asian Network and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Youth Empowerment Project.

The Commission continued to host forums at different locations throughout the County. Some of the topics covered in the 2003-2004 were:

Network partners were also helpful when the Commission announced the inauguration of a rumor control and information hotline and web link to address hate crimes and hate incidents as a result of the U.S. war on Iraq. Through the toll- free hotline, 888 No-2-Hate (662-4283) and the website, www. LAhumanrelations.org, county residents were able to report hate acts and incidents, get information about rumors, and request assistance.

7. SCHOOL INTERGROUP CONFLICT INITIATIVE (SICI)

The Commission responded to racially-motivated violence and vandalism in communities around the county, such as in Hawaiian Gardens, Antelope Valley and responded by creating special events to help unite a collaborative group of government and community groups to assess issues, provide resources, and coordinate and create problem-solving solutions.

Inter-racial campus brawls made headlines at a variety of schools throughout the County:

The Commission has worked closely with the Los Angeles Unified School District 7, and has offered a range of human relations programs, trainings and activities. Other agencies such as the U.S. Justice Department's Community Relations Service, the State Attorney General's Community Relations Service, and the L.A. City Human Relations Commission, along with other like-minded organizations and agencies have been involved in this effort.

In 2004, the Commission offered training to District 7 teachers, conducted by the Commission and Facing History and Ourselves, so that they could better integrate human relations knowledge and skills into their regular curriculum. The Commission also sponsored a Locke High School six week summer pilot project for a mixture of Latino and African American students. The students were taught to understand each other's culture, increased their communicative skills to one another, and concluded their summer experience with a trip to the Museum of Tolerance and a day's outing at the beach.

Another 2004 summertime project was the work done in conjunction with the Los Angeles Probation Department at Camp Gonzales in Malibu. The Commission worked with over 100 youth housed in the facility, ranging in age from 12 to 18.

The Commission is also part of a diverse group who, in 2004, began to work in the ABC Unified School District, thanks to a $5.6 million dollar three-year grant which targets the 30 schools in that area with more intensive hate crime prevention activities. The Commission worked with the InterAgency Gang Task Force in providing technical assistance that resulted in the grant. The money will offer intensive, comprehensive programs, including a teen center and human relations training. The Commission's role will be specifically directed to 9th and 10th graders at individual high schools. These students participate in interactive educational experiences designed to help understand and respect their own and other's racial and cultural identities. This is done through experiential exercises and through the practice of cross-cultural conflict resolution skills and strategies. The goals of the multi-year grant will be to create and maintain safe school environments, reduce student use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs reduce youth violence, increase the availability of mental health services, increase social-emotional learning opportunities for young children, effective inter-agency coordination of strategies to prevent and respond to substance abuse, and to develop a collaborative plan that can sustain the overarching mission.

Force in providing technical assistance that resulted in the grant. The money will offer intensive, comprehensive programs, including a teen center and human relations training. The Commission's role will be specifically directed to 9th and 10th graders at individual high schools. These students participate in interactive educational experiences designed to help understand and respect their own and other's racial and cultural identities. This is done through experiential exercises and through the practice of cross-cultural conflict resolution skills and strategies. The goals of the multi-year grant will be to create and maintain safe school environments, reduce student use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs reduce youth violence, increase the availability of mental health services, increase social-emotional learning opportunities for young children, effective inter-agency coordination of strategies to prevent and respond to substance abuse, and to develop a collaborative plan that can sustain the overarching mission.

The Commission also began to actively work with teachers, to provide them with strategies to promote academic success for their students, to promote acceptance among diverse students, and to make connections in the Language Arts curriculum and standards. One of the training forums, dedicated to this end, occurred on Saturday, October 9, 2004, when Linda Christensen, a co-director of the Oregon Writing Project at Lewis and Clark College and a published author on the teaching of language skills, taught teachers at an all-day USC School of Education series.

8. JOHN ANSON FORD AWARDS

2003:

The 2003 59th Anniversary Celebration of the John Anson Ford Human Relations Award was celebrated on October 16, 2003 at the Los Angeles Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

Receiving the Commission's John Allen Buggs Leadership Award was Gordon Davidson, the former producer of the Center Theatre Group. The Commission's "Courage" award winners were the co-creators of the NBC drama The West Wing and veteran broadcast journalist Tony Valdez, for his journalistic efforts in the Los Angeles arena.

The Corporate Award went to Sempra Energy, because of the corporation's concerted efforts to be sensitive to the needs of its diverse workforce.

The five supervisory district awards went to: DreamYard L.A., a non-profit arts education organization working with at-risk and incarcerated youth; the Watts Labor Community Education Action Committee, a non-profit community-based organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for South Central Los Angeles residents; Commander Lynda Castro of the West Hollywood Sheriff's Department; the International Cultural Exchange Association, for its work in bringing people from different cultures together, and Drs. David L. and Jacqueline Jacobs, for their work as life-long educators to the communities of Pasadena.

2004:

In 2004, the John Anson Ford Human Relations Awards took place at the Cathedral Plaza, and the annual event celebrated the Commission's 60 years of working to achieve a more harmonious environment for Angelinos.

The list of recipients included: Father Greg Boyle, SJ, the head of Homeboy Industries. Father Boyle received the "John Allen Buggs" Award, because of his critically important work with gang members.

Sonia Nazario, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist on the Los Angeles Times staff was honored with the "Courage" award for her series, "Enrique's Journey."

The five supervisory district winners represented broad panoply of work in the human relations sector:

In the first district, the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation was honored for its Cesar E. Chavez Service Learning Initiative. The Children's Enrichment program was the second district's choice for its after-school program work. The Gay-Straight Alliance Network, a group that empowers gay activists to fight homophobia in schools was the third district's honoree. The Freedom Writers, a project started by teacher Erin Gruwell, a decade ago, has received international recognition for transforming the lives of students through the written word. In the fifth district, ArtsSourced-Pros provide art instruction and human relations skills to youngsters in the public school.

9. INTERFAITH LEADERSHIP

10. YOUTH PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN (ZEROHOUR: The Time to Act is Now!)

The "Get Real LA!" coalition organized a "zerohour" human relations training conference in March 2006 that hosted 200 students comprising teams from 30 high schools, and provided school-based trainings in self-identity, combating bigotry and racism, hate crime, cross-cultural understanding, peer mediation, homophobia and sexism.

The campaign included the production of "reality shoot" TV public service announcements and wild postings that resulted in more than 280,000 unique hits on the zerohour.com website. Over 1, 800 youths signed on to help fight discrimination and hate; movie theatre ads were seen by over 5.9 million, and over $1.3 million has been donated in services and grant funding. Movie theater ads were seen by more than 5.9 million, and more than $1.3 million was donated in services and grant funding.

The Youth Advisory Council Team for the Commission ushered in the "zerohour" campaign with an anti-hate CD, "Confessions of the Discriminated," a musical journey into their personal experiences in dealing with discrimination, harassment and bullying. Musical artists Ozomatli, Fertile Soil and 2-Sharp contributed tracks to the CD. The release party of the CD was held September 25, 2003.

In 2004, the work became more focused on schools, students and teachers. The "Get Real LA!" coalition organized a "zerohour" human relations training conference in March, 2004. The Conference hosted more than 200 students, comprising teams from 30 high schools, and provided school-based trainings in self-identity, combating bigotry and racism, hate crime, cross-cultural understanding, peer mediation, homophobia and sexism.

Other zerohour events held in 2004 included the declaration by the Board of Supervisors that June 16th was zerohour Day L.A. That evening a Rock the Vote, zerohour Day L.A. Concert was held at the Avalon concert hall. Headliners included Joss Stone, Ozomatli, Wicked Wisdom and 213, a group composed of Snoop Dogg, Warren G., and Nate Dogg.

Another 2004 summertime activity was the Locke High School inter-group project to bring understanding among Black and Latino students through a series of exercises that centered on discussion of culture and its impact on an individual, and how a lack of understanding can lead to conflict.

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