By Joanna Yeh, 2025 CLA Intern
As I explore the extents of community events, I started looking into what the Los Angeles government has to offer. One of the many benefits of working in the Attorney General’s office is that I receive information about webinars or events related to laws and law enforcement. For example, I recently attended a webinar called “Anti-Hate Crimes Virtual Panel: Reporting, Responding, and Community Relations.” During the panel, the Asian Pacific Islander Employee Resource Group (API-ERG) hosted five guests, making a total of seven speakers. There were two deputy attorneys general, as well as representatives from AAPI Equity Alliance, California Conference for Equality and Justice, the DOJ Civil Rights Department, and our very own executive director, Nancy Yap, from CAUSE USA. From discussions on under-reporting to sharing strategies each organization is utilizing to combat hate crimes, the panel was smooth and ensured every panelist got a voice. Among many statistics, the webinar described how 80% of students experience hate at school, a shocking number considering that schools are meant to be safe spaces for young minds. It is interesting to me how organizations’ responses to address hate crimes might be able to lower such a drastic number. By highlighting civic engagement, healing spaces, and police education, the variety of strategies demonstrates the deep-rooted nature of discrimination. While I think the panel could last longer than the hour the speakers were allotted, I think this is a great starting point. I just worry, as do all the rest of the speakers, that the funding cuts and terrorizing ICE raids will irreparably hurt the initiatives to reduce hate crimes.
Amidst such tumultuous times, initiatives such as the LA Civil Rights Department’s “Just Say Hello” event demonstrate that we need to strengthen our personal and professional coalitions. Yet another event to which my supervisor was invited, the morning gathering hosted by the department’s executive director, Capri Maddox, brought together officials from the LA Sanitation and Environment, the Port of Los Angeles, the City Council, and so much more. This time for networking and introductions was refreshing considering how intense and adversarial politics is right now. While the positive experiences by no means cancel out the unfortunate realities that non-profits and governing offices alike a facing because of cuts, it does make doing the work easier because it reminds me who my community is and that I’m not alone. It was also interesting to notice that I felt more comfortable meeting new officials since entering CLA. From our sessions practicing our elevator pitches to meeting so many guest speakers, I liked how I am more confident in my ability to talk to the folks around me.
Overall, these community events were an interesting contrast to the events I attended in the beginning since they were both hosted by the government for an audience of governing–or governing-adjacent–folks. As the CAUSE Internship starts to wrap up, I hope to explore the separate and overlapping functions of non-profit and governing spaces more.