Blog

The Los Angeles Times, October 12, 2001 Meeting Thursday for the first time since the attacks on New York and the Pentagon, OC Human Relations Commission adopted a plan to respond to a rise in hate-crimes.  Since Sept 11, the commission has taken 24 reports of hate-crimes related to people thought to be of Middle Eastern descent… click here to read

The Orange County Register, August 20, 2001 On Sunday, Tina Fernandez, the deputy director of Orange County’s Human Relations Commission was named Woman of the Year at the county’s Gay Pride Festival for spearheading efforts to ensure that gay and lesbian students are protected from discrimination… click here to read more

The Orange County Register, May 24, 2001 As a child Michael Matsuda knew first hand the pain of racism.  Now the high school teacher is helping launch a program he hopes will educate and inspire others to oppose prejudice.  Matsuda this week will begin training 27 teachers in what is believed to be the nation’s first high school program… click here

The Orange County Register, May 20, 2001 When the program leader asked 85 youth and adults to cross a white line on Saturday it felt more like crossing the Berlin Wall than a strip of tape.  The event, organized by the county’s Human Relations Commission and Newport Beach Youth Council is part of an international program to stop teen violence

The OC Register, May 18, 2001 Community officials Monday started trying to mend a rift between police and Oak View residents emotionally torn after the May 5 shooting death of 18 year old Antonio Saldiyar.  The city’s Human Relations Task Force and Orange County Human Relations Commission organized meetings.. click here to read more

The Los Angeles Times, January 29, 2001 Last week I got a chance to sit in on one of the mediation-conciliation training session run by the Orange County Human Relations Commission.  The 28-hour courses are run several times a year to help bolster its volunteer force of mediators…click here to read more

The Los Angeles Times, January 9, 2000 Orange County’s diversity holds the key to its sense of place in the future. What we make of it says much about ourselves… click here to read more  

OC Register, December 5, 1999 1955 – Rusty Kennedy starts standing up for human rights when he’s lying down.  In his stroller.  His mother, Natalie, pushes baby Rusty around their Golden Hills neighborhood in Fullerton, as she collects signatures…. click here to read more

The Los Angeles Times, December 6, 1998 The changing face of  Orange County is ever more apparent.  The percentage of whites is decreasing, the percentage of Latinos and Asians is increasing…click here to read more

The OC Register, April 28, 1998 BRIDGES, an Orange County school program, was honored by the White House this week for its efforts to teach youth ethnic tolerance and understanding… click here to read more