Rights Panels Should Be Preserved

MultiCultural Women Writers of Orange County as a group and as individuals have been working for many years to promote multicultural awareness among us. Through the past two decades, we have had the pleasure of observing the good work of the Human Relations Commission, which has consistently worked for better relations between the dominant Anglo-American and the ethnic minority population in Orange County.

It is therefore with great concern that we note the decision of the Orange County Board of Supervisors to no longer fund the work of the Human Relations Commission. It is unconscionable that our supervisors would consider such a move at a time when the work of this commission is most needed, judging by recent reports that there were 35 hate-related incidents since January in Orange County.

This is the commission that for two decades has been quietly doing needed work done by no other body in this county. With the increase of many culturally diverse people coming to live and work among us in sometimes heavily concentrated areas, we have had to become aware of rising tensions that are the inevitable result of changed social situations. This commission has risen to the challenge to mediate and mollify sometimes extremely difficult tensions among our diverse population.

We are on our way to becoming the most blessed state in the United States as our communities flourish under this enriched cultural atmosphere. However, the American Dream will not be attained without hard work. We must come to grips with the reality that this is one of the most crucial issues of the ‘90s, not only countywide, but nationally.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors’ move to cancel the Human Relations Commission may be a tragic mistake.

MITSUYE YAMADA, Coordinator, MultiCultural Women Writers of Orange County