Antelope Valley Human Relations Commission

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Sunday, October 28, 2007.

By TITUS GEE
Valley Press Staff Writer

PALMDALE – In hope of quelling bullying and use of racial slurs by school children, Palmdale School District officials this week announced a new partnership with the Anti-Defamation League.

In coming months, the district will institute the league’s “World of Difference Institute Peer Education Programs,” they said.

Superintendent Roger Gallizzi instigated the new program after a call from the Antelope Valley Human Relations Commission about students on campus using racial epithets. “When I started asking around,” Gallizzi said, “it was clear that we did not have a consistent way of dealing with them.”

He contacted the Los Angeles County Office of Education and was referred to the Anti-Defamation League, he said.

“We really need to be proactive on this, not reactive,” the superintendent said. “This is not new work for us. This is just work in a different area (toward) being a more culturally responsible district.”

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Tags: Education, Task Force by admin
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The National Conference for Community and Justice (formerly called the National Conference for Christians and Jews) released the largest ever survey of intergroup relations in America, Taking America’s Pulse III, on July 18, 2006. The survey reveals Americans’ attitudes about racial, ethnic, religious and social groups.

TAP III is the third in a series of large-scale nationwide surveys of American attitudes about intergroup relations.

Findings in Taking America’s Pulse III demonstrate positive progress in the areas of intergroup relations.

Generally, tension between groups is perceived to be less and overall satisfaction with how groups get along is up notably.

More intergroup contact is occurring and more people feel closer to racial and ethnic groups generally. Except for Muslims, most groups are seen as experiencing less discrimination and more equal opportunity. Although support for racial integration and equality has increased, most groups are perceived to have less influence than in the past.

Interracial/interethnic contact is higher now than 5 years ago in the TAP II study.

Reported contact by non-Blacks with Blacks increased to 83% (compared to 67% in 2000), non-Hispanics with Hispanics increased 75% (compared to 51% in 2000), and non-Asians with Asians increased to 56% (compared to 49% in 2000). The only decline reported was with non-Hispanic Whites which decreased slightly from 87% in 2000 to 85% in 2005.

Increased intergroup contact is a positive finding in that those who have greater contact with racial and ethnic groups are more likely to rate intergroup relations as a priority, have greater feelings of closeness, think that discrimination is high, and see minority groups as lacking in influence.

For more information on TAP III, you can view the Press Kit and request a copy of the Full Report.

Tags: Attitudes by Michele Chavez
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According to a report by Leo Stallworth of ABC Channel 7 News:

PALMDALE, Oct. 19, 2007 – Messages of hate were left in one local neighborhood — leaflets, showing a hangman’s noose and the letters KKK.

The FBI has joined the search for whoever is responsible.

The leaflets were found in a Palmdale neighborhood that is home to many African Americans. It’s also near a high school that was the scene of a controversial incident recently, involving racial allegations.

You can read the entire report here.

Tags: Darren Parker, Hate, Racism by Michele Chavez
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LEADER LISTENS – Anthony Topete, commander of the Antelope Valley chapter of the Brown Berets, on Monday attends a meeting of the Antelope Valley Human Relations Commission, representing the Latino civil rights and student organization. KELLY LACEFIELD/Valley Press

Group discusses anonymous fliers found near Knight High

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Wednesday, October 17, 2007.

By JAMES RUFUS KOREN
Valley Press Staff Writer

LANCASTER – The Antelope Valley chapter of the Brown Berets, a Latino civil rights and student organization, was unanimously accepted Monday night as a member of the Antelope Valley Human Relations Commission.

The 11-member Brown Beret chapter was able to join the body after submitting its mission statement and bylaws to the task force and attending several task force meetings. Representing the group at Monday’s task force meeting was chapter commander Anthony Topete, along with several associates.

Other Hispanic and Latino organizations participate at task force meetings, including the Mexican American Political Association and the League of United Latin American Citizens.

Also at Monday’s task force meeting, members discussed the discovery near Knight High School of anonymous fliers depicting reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. The fliers involved derogatory language and racist epithets and contained the words “don’t come to Antelope Valley.”

Lt. Larry Gregg and Lt. Ed Cook of the Palmdale Sheriff’s Station brought a copy of the flier to Monday’s meeting of the task force.

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Tags: Community, Darren Parker, Diversity, Task Force by Michele Chavez
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Task force president finds no evidence of ethnic slur

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Tuesday, October 16, 2007.

By JAMES RUFUS KOREN
Valley Press Staff Writer

LANCASTER – The Antelope Valley Human Relations Commission’s president reported Monday that an investigation found no racial motivations behind a now-controversial Sept. 18 scuffle involving a white campus security guard and black students at Palmdale’s Knight High School.

Task force president Darren Parker said no evidence exists that Knight High security guard Chris Niemeyer called 15-year-old Pleajhai Mervin “nappy head” while detaining her during a dispute about cleaning up spilled birthday cake, as the girl and her mother have stated.

“After reviewing numerous documents and getting feedback from numerous people, my investigation has concluded that it does not appear that this issue was because of race,” Parker said. “The issue was truly a piece of cake.”

Parker gave his report Monday night during a task force meeting at Lancaster City Hall, attended by officials from the Antelope Valley Union High School District, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and other government agencies. Established by Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich in 1995 to study racial violence following attacks on blacks by white supremacist gang members, the task force contains representatives from more than a dozen organizations and government agencies. Its purpose is to collect and examine reports of hate crimes, to help victims and to identify initiatives to reduce hate crimes.

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Tags: Darren Parker, Task Force by Michele Chavez
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Robert L. Woodson, director of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, talks during a press conference about his involvement with Partners for a Better Palmdale.

This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Saturday, October 13, 2007

By TITUS GEE
Valley Press Staff Writer

PALMDALE – A new program to reduce school violence could be in place at Knight High School by December, Antelope Valley Union High School District Superintendent David Vierra said Friday. The Violence-Free Zone Initiative “is a program that takes a look at specific needs in a specific community and a specific site,” Vierra said.

The initiative will be funded by the district and the city’s Partners for a Better Palmdale, Vierra said. Funding details are not yet available, he said, but the high school district board has pledged up to $150,000 to the effort.

Early plans for a pilot run of the Violence-free Zone Initiative targeted Palmdale High, officials said, but recent attention at Knight High persuaded leaders to shift the focus there. Knight High has made headlines recently because of controversy about a Sept. 18 scuffle between students and security staff that sparked protests and allegations of racism.

The Violence-Free Zone Initiative, an offshoot of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, enlists community members to walk school hallways as “student advisers” who build relationships with students and help to defuse tension between teens. Program leaders look for parents raising successful kids in tough environments and those who made mistakes early in life, then got their acts together. Such people already have the skill set to help students cope, said Robert Woodson, founder of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, which runs similar programs at 25 high schools in six cities across the nation.

“The answer cannot be found with more cops, cameras and curfews,” said Woodson, who also has been advising Palmdale city officials in a new anti-crime campaign.

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Tags: Community, Education by Michele Chavez
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