By Kenneth Miller, Publisher
STOP THE HATE-–Members of the panel included Jose Luis Benavides (Professor of Journalism, Cal State Northridge), Khydeeja Alam (Executive Director, CA Commission on Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs (CCAPIAA), Ellana Kaimowitz (Founder, Stop AAPI Hate), Kartgick Radakrishnan (Professor of Public Policy, UC Riverside, Founder & Director, AAPPI Data) and Andrew Wong (Managing Director of Advocacy at Chinese for Affirmative Action & Co Founder of Stop the Hate). (Kenneth Miller/Photo)
Sacramento–On day one of the three day California Ethnic Media Conference Expo Awards at the Sheraton Grand Hotel downtown, it did not take long for the fireworks to explode at the only panel where it could be resolved on Aug. 27.
Founders and scholars instrumental in developing the ‘Stop the Hate’ initiative and transforming it into much more than just a mere catch phrase slogan engaged with media members and community based organizations for the purpose of moving the powerful agenda forward.
Members of the panel included Jose Luis Benavides (Professor of Journalism, cal State Northridge), Khydeeja Alam (Executive Director, CA Commission on Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs (CCAPIAA), Ellana Kaimowitz (Founder, Stop AAPI Hate), Kartgick Radakrishnan (Professor of Public Policy, UC Riverside, Founder & Director, AAPPI Data) and Andrew Wong (Managing Director of Advocacy at Chinese for Affirmative Action & Co Founder of Stop the Hate).
‘Stop the Hate’ did much more than just present an open dialog which resulted in organic, combative albeit constructive conversation but it also was responsible for supporting many of the organizations in the room, including the conference itself.
As the sweltering heat outside the venue continued to climb, here in the Gardenia Ballroom, a congested room, people waited with anticipation for significant dialog.
This particular session was one of three during three confab that was designed to address ethnic hate crimes in the state, while confronting the power of hate rhetoric and addressing the consequences of hate.
Hate crimes only existed for a year before they were documented and thus The California Department of Social Services (CDSS), in partnership with the Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (CAPIAA), made $20 million available in Fiscal Year 2021-22 for the Stop the Hate Program. Stop the Hate Program Funding provides grants to qualified organizations to provide support and services to victims and survivors of hate incidents and hate crimes and their families and facilitate hate incident or hate crime prevention measures.
California is the leader in the nation in committing the essential resources and designed legislation to ‘Stop the Hate’, much more than New York’s $10 million.
The program is committed to making available the resources to combat multi racial hate, and making sure that victims have the access to the resources they are entitled to.
According to the panel there were 12,000 incidents of anti-Asian hate in a calendar year alone, which is why these leaders inspired the state to make the long term investment of $247 million from 2021-2022.
The COVID Pandemic coupled with the Hate Pandemic created a toxic and fragile universe that sparked a significant increase in the crisis.
One local publisher who took issue with the visible lack of Black representation on the panel was Westside Story Publisher Wallace Allen. (Kenneth Miller/Photo)
Allen got up from his audience seat and walked to the microphone in protest of what he and others felt was a lack of representation of Blacks.
California Black Media boss Regina Wilson and Ethnic Media leader Sandy Close gingerly approached Allen before relenting and allowing for him to address the panel and the audience.
Allen told the group, “I want to play the race card,” alluding to the prejudices inflicted among Blacks for centuries.
The esteemed panel welcomed Allen’s input and also vowed to address the lack of full representation on the panel.
The moment underlined a bold and critical component of the ongoing campaign to ‘Stop the Hate’, a destination that we would not have arrived at without the steadfast crusade of the founders and scholars sitting on that stage on this afternoon.
