Tolerance Panel Reacts Swiftly to Terror Strike

One office in Orange County is uniquely qualified to deal with any racially motivated backlash from last week’s terrorist attacks on the East Coast: the Orange County Human Relations Commission.

For three decades, the commission has worked to eliminate prejudice, intolerance and discrimination with mediation, education and dialogue.

After the attacks, commission members immediately dispatched to county schools a curriculum that could be used to help explain the violence to students.

The commission, which celebrates its 30th anniversary today, has services ranging from conflict-resolution classes to intervening in disputes between police and Latino community leaders.

After longtime executive director Rusty Kennedy began sending the faxes to schools last week, he held a news conference with Jewish and Muslim leaders to set a tone of harmony and unity.

Pat Krone, a longtime commission board member, said the attacks brought “the kinds of issues we deal with all the time” to the forefront.

To mark its anniversary, the commission will hold a gala tonight at the Grand Californian Hotel in Anaheim to remember work that began in 1971.

That year, the commission began as a pilot project that soon would investigate the displacement of low-income Mexican American families from a Santa Ana apartment complex.

Other work included calling for an Orange County Grand Jury investigation in 1974 of two Huntington Beach housing facilities for agricultural workers, mediation between Stanton barrio residents and police after community violence in 1975, the promotion of bilingual education in 1976 and 1977, and a campaign for medical services for the poor in 1979.

In the 1980s, the commission worked on affordable housing, homelessness, and the high Latino dropout rate, and worked with Orange police to establish a site for day laborers.

In 1991, the commission’s budget was cut in half because of the looming recession. The commission responded by forming a nonprofit organization to garner donations, then continued working on improving police-community relations and developing programs to make students consider different cultures.

Last week, responding to complaints of racist practices by Anaheim police from the Latino civic organization Los Amigos of Orange County, Anaheim Police Chief Roger Baker called the commission to mediate.

“Our job is not to say who is right or wrong. It’s to establish communication,” said Becky Esparza, a board member for 19 years. “There has been tremendous growth in what we do. At first, law enforcement didn’t understand why we were here. Now they are calling us. . . . We’ve come a long way.”

These days, the commission is funded by a $300,000 public budget and a $1.5-million private budget supported by Pacific Life Insurance, Disney, PacifiCare and Wells Fargo Bank.

“We’ve gone through a pretty dramatic shift,” Kennedy said. The outside donations “show how companies, schools and the community are coming to a consensus on how we can all eliminate intolerance.”

Amin David, who heads Los Amigos, is a former chairman of the commission. He believes negotiations with police will help create greater understanding.

“When we first started in the commission, we were looked at as radical, anti-police,” David said. “Now [the commission has] done projects that have earned respect not only in the community but with the powers that be.”’

Tonight’s gala will honor three people who have made major contributions of time and money to the commission. Among the honorees is Leigh Steinberg, a sports agent who created four weeklong sessions to prepare 100 middle and high school students to be leaders in their schools.

Another honoree is Isabelle Villasenor of Corona del Mar, owner of a McDonald’s franchise. She is among the founders of the Hispanic Education Endowment Fund and has worked to provide scholarships to Latino youth. She also has financially supported St. Joseph Ballet dancers.

The third honoree is Andrew Youngquist, president of ALY Construction, who requires his subcontractors to learn about labor standards to prevent exploitation of construction workers.

The commission’s ultimate goal is for other organizations to help continue and expand the commission’s work, Krone said.

“We do not always find a way for people to win. But if we don’t talk, there is no way to forge a better future where [hate] crimes and intolerance are not permitted,” Kennedy said. “Understanding begins with a conversation. We have to talk.”