Sept. 28 forum will address concerns of the LGBTQ+ community | Opinion
Growing up Mexican American in West Texas, diversity was whether you wore a cowboy hat or not.
Black Americans were rarely seen. I still remember watching the smoldering ruins of a Black family’s home on an early 1960’s morning in some forgettable town – one of several we bounced from every year it seemed. Rumor was that the house was set on fire to scare the family away.
I went through school and college without being taught by a Black instructor. It was not until my family migrated to California in the summer of 1969 that I first saw an Asian American. Then Sikhs. Then Armenians, Russians, and folks from all corners of the world. I welcomed that diversity.
However, a diverse Fresno – or San Joaquín Valley – is no vaccine for hate crimes, hate speech, discrimination and racism. The state Attorney General’s 2022 Hate Crime Report is proof. If you’re Black, Asian, Jewish or LGBTQ+, you were likely the victim of a hate incident.
That is the main reason Vida en el Valle and Fresno Bee reporters have been reporting since August on the Stop the Hate project under a grant by the California State Library.
Our reporting has found:
–Representation matters, according to Fresno City Councilmember Annalisa Perea, the first openly LGBTQ+ member of the council. Perea worked with supporters to convince Fresno Mayor to appoint an LGBTQ+ liaison to Mayor Jerry Dyer’s Office of Community Affairs. That appointment is expected to be announced this month.
–People need to report hate crimes to police, who have placed such incidents as a high priority, according to Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama. The department is part of a task force of local, state and federal law enforcement that combats hate crimes.
–Gen Z residents who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community do not support policies that force schools to tell parents whenever their child changes his or her pronoun.
–Oaxacan immigrants and their offspring find themselves discriminated against on both sides of the border, and often by fellow Mexicans, because of their skin color, culture and language.
–Transgender individuals are in critical need of services ranging from mental health to housing to health insurance.
Our reporting – which includes thought-provoking commentaries by Dr. Alex M. Saragoza and Dr. Patrick Fontes – has been completed. However, our work is not done yet. We are partnering with the State Center Community College District, Fresno City College, Councilmember Annalisa Perea, the Mexican Consulate in Fresno, the Fresno County Economic Opportunities Commission and others to host a Sept. 28 forum at Fresno City College.
Panelists include Perea, SCCCD Chancellor Carole Goldsmith, Fresno Deputy Police Chief Mark Salazar, Mexican Head Consul Adriana González Carrillo, and Jennifer Cruz, director of the LGBTQ+ Resource Center for the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission.
Other panelists include Reel Pride Festival founder Dr. Peter Robertson, Father Nelson Serrano Poveda, Fresno City College instructor Dr. Apryl Lewis, and trans activist Rubí Juárez.
There will be three panels, which will include a question-and-answer period. Topics range from the historical perspective of the LGBTQ+ community in Fresno to what happens when hate crimes don’t get reported to the current environment.
The forum, which will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Old Administration Building Auditorium, will include three panel discussions on LGBTQ+ issues. The forum will be videotaped for future viewing.
I invite you to attend the forum in person, or watch it later. RSVP now and submit questions to ask our panelists.
This is part of a series on Stop The Hate, a project funded by the California State Library. Juan Esparza Loera is editor of Vida en el Valle
