SANTA ANA : Odeh Statue to Be Unveiled at Library
A bronze statue of Alex Odeh, a prominent Palestinian American activist who was killed in a 1985 bomb attack, will be unveiled Sunday in front of the Main Library.
Hundreds of people are expected to attend the unveiling, including Odeh’s widow, Norma, and television and radio personality Casey Kasem, who helped raise $25,000 to erect the statue.
Kasem on Monday said that Odeh “was an extraordinary man. He was a philosophical poet, a man who was not afraid to speak out in the tradition of Henry David Thoreau, Gandhi, Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King. He was truly a great leader.”
Odeh was the West Coast regional director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee and spokesman for the Arab American community. Odeh would have turned 50 this month.
“The statue is important to remind people that this country has the First Amendment,” Kasem said. “This is a country where you can say what you believe, (and we) all have a responsibility as citizens in this country to speak out” against intolerance, discrimination and prejudice, as Odeh did.
Local politicians including Mayor Daniel H. Young and several City Council members are also expected to attend.
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