Los Angeles Can Take Steps to Foster Racial Tolerance : Tensions: So diverse a city needs to work at human relations. Give the commission new teeth and new direction.

Not since the debate over mandatory busing have race relations in Los Angeles received such attention. It is about time.

During my campaign and after taking my seat on the City Council last month, I have witnessed increased tensions between police and the community, blacks and Koreans and, most recently, the tragedy at Jordan Downs and its aftermath. The lack of respect for human life in a civilized society cannot continue to fester in Los Angeles.

Memories of the Black Panthers and Brown Berets still evoke feelings of pride in South-Central and on the Eastside; they took to the streets because of similar frustrations over inequities in municipal representation, lack of equal educational opportunities, bias in the police department and lack of employment because of discrimination.

Yet, in a city as ethnically diverse as Los Angeles has become, it is inconceivable that no priority is given to human relations. As we stumble toward the next century, how can we possibly expect to deal with increased growth and a continuing wave of immigrants? The city’s Human Relations Commission has a grand goal: “To assist in assuring to all people in the City of Los Angeles the opportunity for full and equal participation in the affairs of this community and to promote the public health, welfare and security.”

While its task is noble, its staffing is less than adequate for a city as large as ours. The commission staff consists of one executive director and two support personnel. In contrast, Los Angeles County’s Human Relations Commission has a staff of 22; New York’s has more than 200.

The commission’s official theme song is “We Are One”--appropriate, because this is one city and not 15, the number of council districts. Yet on issues of housing, transportation and distribution of resources, this city has repeatedly been divided into 15 little ones--into the haves and the have-nots. Consequently, the debate has focused less on people and more on the status quo.

The reality is that we are ushering in a new era and a new reality in Los Angeles. With the increased empowerment of people of color in Los Angeles, these communities are demanding more access and more representation, fairer distribution of resources and more opportunities.

Every resident of this city deserves the opportunity to maintain a decent standard of living. Families, regardless of skin color, should be able to raise their children in clean, safe environments. This is the new reality.

Yet, ushering in this new reality will require understanding and tolerance. Whites must interact with blacks. Blacks must be tolerant of Latinos. Latinos must understand Asians.

The Human Relations Commission must be sensitive to these changes and foster an environment that promotes tolerance and understanding. We are a city of diverse cultures and beliefs. Education is needed to overcome and bridge this diversity.

It is time to give the Human Relations Commission a new mandate for the 1990s. The City Council should direct the commission to prepare a plan that realistically addresses the tensions and ethnic unrest in our city. Moreover, the commission should report back to the council with a time frame on what we, as elected officials and residents, can do to promote cultural awareness and education, with the ultimate goal of a creating a sense of unity.

As we give the Human Relations Commission a new direction, we also must give it more teeth. It needs resources so that it can be more effective. Finally, we should maximize our efforts by working together with the county to promote cultural awareness on a regional level.

The commission has a key role to play as watchdog and central repository for community- and human-relations programs. It should be advising departments and providing training sessions on how to be more responsive to the sections of this city that have historically been overlooked, as well as evaluating those efforts.

The commission, for example, could work closely with the police or paramedics to make recommendations on deployment of bilingual/bicultural personnel in certain areas, helping to serve those communities better.

We need to give human relations a higher priority. When the city imposes a 1% fee on new construction for public art, I would like to see the same emphasis placed on people. While I am not advocating new fees, I am questioning our priorities. The City Council’s priority must always be people.

If we are to become a truly international city, the anchor to the Pacific Rim, gateway to the Americas, beneficiary of a free-trade agreement with Mexico, then we must focus our attention on the people who call Los Angeles home. Perhaps then we will in fact become one city.