County Report on Race Is Uninspiring : Commission on Human Relations did a hasty job in probing Antelope Valley skinheads

The job of addressing Antelope Valley racial tension is off to a ragged start, partly because of a hastily done investigation by the county Commission on Human Relations.

A report by the agency is being widely criticized by conservatives who call it too negative and minority-group leaders who say it understates problems. In fact, it isn’t done well enough to change anyone’s mind.

County supervisors ordered the study in April because of crimes linked to race and after allegations that “hate crimes” were not being vigorously investigated. The 10-page report is called “Skinheads in Antelope Valley” but tries to address the whole subject of race relations. The result, as Supervisor Gloria Molina observed, is lacking in depth.

The report offended the NAACP by repeating the familiar figure of no more than 100 local skinheads. It offended some political leaders by saying racial violence could worsen.

It apparently documented its vague ramblings about tensions in schools only with newspaper stories. And it ignored some divisive local disputes, including one over the Confederate flag as a public-school symbol.

An unwary reader might think the power structure is energetically addressing racial problems: “The community leaders in Lancaster and Palmdale agree that measures must be taken to eliminate the racial tensions that exist in the Antelope Valley. . . . The fear and concern of the community is that violence could escalate, causing further disharmony within this growing multiethnic community.”

But there seems to be no consensus among city councils, school boards and minority groups about the extent of problems or needed action. Lancaster Mayor George Runner rejects many commission recommendations, including one for a Lancaster-Palmdale human relations commission. And Runner, unlike Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford, says programs to “educate intolerance and prejudice out of people” usually fail.

Admittedly it is hard to generalize about an overall racial climate. This study needed a canvassing of views of citizens of all backgrounds, an airing of different perspectives on the situation and a full examination of facts, including law-enforcement data.

Many Latino and African Americans believe their concerns have not been taken seriously. The crimes that have occurred, although few in number, strongly suggest the area has problems that demand attention, despite this uninspired beginning.

A healthy racial climate in the Antelope Valley is probably like a good marriage: It is achievable, but it will take work. A good start would be a rigorous 90-day review of the way hate crimes as defined by law are investigated and prosecuted, as the supervisors have ordered.