Council Urges State Human Relations Panel

Moved by an emotional plea from the brother of a mail carrier shot to death allegedly by an avowed white supremacist, the Los Angeles City Council called Wednesday for creation of a statewide human relations commission.

Ismael Ileto, whose brother, Joseph, was killed last year while delivering mail in Chatsworth, allegedly by the same man who opened fire at the North Valley Jewish Community Center, said his family is still struggling to come to grips with the loss.

“It’s one thing to lose a loved one like my father from a heart attack, and it’s another thing to lose someone like my brother from a hate crime that is senseless and just full of hatred,” Ileto told the council.

“It leaves you with a feeling of emptiness, loneliness and a lot of questions of whether we belong here in this city and this state,” he said. “My answer is we do belong here, because we have all had contributions to making this city, this state, this nation one of the greatest.”

The council endorsed state legislation introduced by Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) in response to the shooting rampage, allegedly by Buford Furrow, that injured five people, including three children, at the community center in Granada Hills and killed Ileto, a Filipino American.

Villaraigosa, who is a candidate for mayor, said at a news conference that his bill would create a 13-member state commission that would coordinate human relations work throughout California and advise the governor and Legislature on new laws needed to combat hate crime and discrimination.

“In California, and especially in Los Angeles, we have the most diverse society on the planet today,” Villaraigosa said. “So, we must learn to live with one another to build from the strength of our diversity, to use it to turn Los Angeles into the true great city of the 21st century.”

Last year’s shootings point to the need for a statewide effort to address hate crimes, according to Jeffrey L. Rouss, former executive vice president of the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Los Angeles.

“It strikes me that the magnitude of the hate is greater and we have to address it,” Rouss said.

Los Angeles city and county already have their own human relations commissions, and there are 58 others throughout California. But Villaraigosa said there are rural areas and small towns that do not have such panels, and the proposed state commission could help residents of those areas organize.

Robin Toma, director of the County Human Relations Commission, said the state panel can also play a role in reducing tension in local schools and jails, which he noted have boiled over recently with violence.

Two weeks ago, a Latino youth in Glendale was stabbed to death while trying to break up a gang-related fight. A series of fights have broken out in the last month between African American and Latino inmates at the Pitchess jail in Castaic.

Toma said schools and jails “have a direct connection to state policy” and therefore could benefit from a state commission.

Sheriff Lee Baca and Joel Wachs, a councilman and another mayoral contender, along with Councilman Mike Feuer, a candidate for city attorney, joined Villaraigosa at a news conference at the Children’s Museum before the council vote.

At the council meeting, member Rita Walters said there are many examples of breakdowns in human relations beyond those that result in violence.

“When we see people in the city calling for a breakup of the city, secession of various parts of the city, it points to a failure in good human relations,” Walters said.

Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, whose extended family includes Filipino Americans, told Ileto that she was inspired that his family did not let a “terrible tragedy” stop it from becoming more involved in promoting racial harmony.

“It really speaks well of what you want to do for the memory of your brother,” Miscikowski said.

Ileto told reporters that members of his family have organized to promote racial harmony, distributing T-shirts with his brother’s image and a message promoting tolerance and education.

“You need to act and not depend on somebody else doing the work for you,” he said. “It’s a lot easier to get involved now than to stand behind a podium and talk to strangers on how you miss your loved ones and how it could have been prevented.”

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