Forum on the impact of hate crimes, speech on Fresno LGBTQ+ community
For the better part of a year, Vida en el Valle has been researching the surge of hate crimes in the Central Valley and the impact on people made to feel less of themselves because of their skin color, religion, gender, language or self-identification.
Reporters from Vida en el Valle and The Fresno Bee have reported on hate crimes and speech against Latinos and the LGBTQ+ communities. Those articles — from the historic evolution of hate speech, to how police handle hate crime reports, to the mental health needs of LGBTQ+ residents — have been published in print and online since August.
The stories:
- Coming out in Fresno: For queer Latinos, supportive families are ‘bigger than everything’
The hateful signs may have disappeared, but racist attitudes haven’t | Opinion
Fresno police chief: Low reports of hate crime don’t tell the whole story
Protecting a diverse city from hate crimes a priority for Fresno mayor
Our Stop the Hate project, made possible by a grant from the California State Library, will wrap up with a free forum on how to “Keep Fresno’s LGBTQ Community Safe” from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 28 at Fresno City College’s Old Administration Building Auditorium, 1101 E. University Ave.
Forum participants will include State Center Community College District Chancellor Dr. Carole Goldsmith, Fresno City Councilmember Annalisa Perea, Fresno Deputy Police Chief Mark Salazar, among others.
Panelists will look at the historical perspective of LGBTQ issues in Fresno, when hate crimes go unreported, and the local impact of public rhetoric and legislation.
Fresno’s diversity (the country’s ninth-most-diverse city), has provided no immunity against occurrences of hatred and bigotry, including burglaries against pro-LGBTQ+ churches and hateful words directed at same-sex couples in the Tower District.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta, who attended a hate crime roundtable in Fresno on Tuesday, has worked to bring more attention to the scourge of hate crimes.
“An attack against one of us is an attack against all of us,” Bonta said when he released the 2022 Hate Crime Report in June. “The alarming increases in crimes committed against Black, LGBTQ+ and Jewish people for the second year in a row illustrates the need for our communities to join together unified against hate.”
This story was originally published September 13, 2023 at 6:00 AM.