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By Tanu Henry, Antonio Ray Harvey and Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media
The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) is joining local governments, advocates, and other partners to launch the United Against Hate Week (UAHW) in Berkeley on Nov. 13.
The initiative was started by local government leaders and elected officials in the Bay Area after several hate groups held rallies in San Francisco and Berkeley.
UAHW activities organized to raise awareness about hate and promote cross-racial and ethnic unity will run from Nov. 12 to 18.
“The week is marked by individuals and community organizations coming together to host events and take action to help combat a national and statewide increase in hate,” reads a press release from the CRD.
“In California, reported hate crimes have reached their highest levels since 2001 — jumping more than 20% from 2021 to 2022. As part of the state’s response to hate, the California Civil Rights Department recently launched CA vs Hate, a non-emergency, multilingual hate crime and incident reporting hotline and online portal,” the press release continues.
Held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center in Berkeley, the Nov. 13 launch ceremony featured several prominent speakers, including Becky Monroe, Deputy Director, Strategic Initiatives and External Affairs at the California Civil Rights Department; Rick Callender, President of the California and Hawaii State Conference, NAACP; Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco); Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín. Ilan Davidson, President, L.A. County Commission on Human Relations; Patrice O’Neill, Founder and Co-Director, Not In Our Town; Pardeep Singh Kaleka, Senior Strategic Advisor, Not In Our Town.
