Council Backs State Panel on Human Relations

Moved by an emotional plea from the brother of a mail carrier who was 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, a Filipino American whose brother, Joseph, was killed last year while delivering mail in Chatsworth, said his family is still struggling to come to grips with the loss. Buford O. Furrow Jr. has been charged in the killing, and is also accused of being the man who earlier opened fire at the North Valley Jewish Community Center, injuring five people, including three children.

“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 last summer.

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

“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, said Jeffrey L. Rouss, former executive vice president of the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Los Angeles.

Both the city and county of Los Angeles 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.

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

Two weeks ago, a Latino youth in Glendale was stabbed to death while trying to break up a fight between another Latino and Armenian Americans. And in the past month, a series of fights has broken out between African American and Latino inmates at the Pitchess jail in Castaic.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski told Ileto that she was inspired because his family did not let a terrible tragedy stop it from becoming more involved in bringing about racial harmony.

Ileto told reporters that members of his family have organized to distribute 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.”