‘H8 Free HB’ virtual event scheduled for Sunday

The city of Huntington Beach is co-sponsoring a virtual event on Sunday afternoon, at the same time that a “White Lives Matter” rally has been scheduled near the Huntington Beach Pier.

The virtual event, called “H8 Free HB,” will be taking place on Zoom at 1 p.m. and can be accessed at bit.ly/31Uzn5T. It will be led by Don Han of OC Human Relations, as well as Mayor Kim Carr and Councilwoman Natalie Moser. The trio also led a virtual Town Hall last week on being an upstander, not a bystander.

Carr said that Sunday’s presentation will be one hour and will include other elected officials, including state Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine). Min’s district includes Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Laguna Beach, along with other Orange County cities.

“I expect there to be a lot of elected officials on a regional level, coming together to denounce hate,” Carr said. “It’s a virtual event to counter what we’ve heard will happen at the pier. I think it just sends a strong message to the community, that Huntington Beach does not stand for hate. There are more of us that are coming out and saying that than the people who want the ‘White Lives Matter’ rally at the pier.

“Out of all of the emails I’ve received, I haven’t received one email in support of that rally. It’s all been the exact opposite. People don’t want that in Huntington Beach, and I completely agree with them.”

Moser said that Sunday’s virtual H8 Free HB event, along with a pro-diversity event at Central Park on April 18 that city staff is putting together, are aiming for unity.

“Whether or not that [‘White Lives Matter’] rally takes place, I think that it brought all of this to the forefront,” she said.

“Whether people in Huntington Beach or outside of Huntington Beach think that this is OK to do in Huntington Beach, we’re sending a message that it’s not. This Sunday’s event is specifically meant to really explicitly send that message.”

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