Tracking Hate Archives - ChicoSol News

Hmong elders may face isolation, animosity

California hotline and Oroville's cultural center offer assistance

by Yucheng Tang | Posted January 21, 2025

photo by Yucheng Tang

Seng Yang, director of Butte County’s Hmong Cultural Center.

Among more than a thousand reports received by the California vs Hate hotline in the first year, the most commonly cited form of hate was based on race and ethnicity.

Anti-Black bias was the most common, followed by anti-Latino and anti-Asian, said Kevin Kish, director of the California Civil Rights Department, during a Jan. 17 briefing organized by Ethnic Media Services (EMS).

The Civil Rights Department launched the hotline in May 2023, and connects victims and witnesses of hate incidents and hate crimes with the resources they may need, including legal services, counseling, mental health services and financial assistance. People can report online in 15 languages, including English, Spanish, Hmong, Filipino and Chinese, or by phone in 200 languages. read more

Sikh community pursues change in narrative

Los sijs buscan que sus historias sean escuchadas

by Yucheng Tang | Posted October 24, 2024

photo by Yucheng Tang

Jasbir Singh Kang, co-founder of the Punjabi American Heritage Society, speaks during the Listening Session.

Lea aqui en español

YUBA CITY — Sikh communities want more visibility and want their stories heard.

Not only should the religious stories be told, but also the stories about how Sikh farmers grow peaches and walnuts, how Sikh community members import food from Mexico or export into Canada, and how they contribute to California’s economy. That’s the view of Jasbir Singh Kang, co-founder of the Punjabi American Heritage Society in Sutter County.

The “Sikh Listening Session” held in Yuba City on Oct. 23 was organized by the California Racial Equity Commission and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (CAPIAA), and gave community members the opportunity to share their stories. read more

Election campaigning targets the vulnerable

Some candidates rely on racist tropes or discriminatory language

by Natalie Hanson | Posted September 4, 2024

photo courtesy of Yee campaign

District 1 candidate Rose Yee attending the Democratic National Convention.

As racist and discriminatory speech become commonplace in electoral campaigns, candidates and campaign organizers are calling for a response. In Butte County and elsewhere, some would like elected officials to speak against discrimination and in favor of protecting marginalized Californians.

On a recent panel convened by Ethnic Media Services, organizers said that anti-immigrant rhetoric from the Republican Party is growing. Panelists said that many incumbents and GOP candidates use slurs against migrants, which fuels fear and anger against people who seek a better life in America.

Hateful speech has been on the rise since 2016, said David Welch, secretary of the Butte County Democratic Party and chairperson for the Democratic Action Club of Chico. Welch said that “free floating anger” came to the surface with Donald Trump’s rise to power and the presidency. read more

Hate crimes targeting LGBTQ people increase in California

by Natalie Hanson | Posted July 24, 2024

Community organizations are relying heavily on partnerships with the Golden State’s government to aid LGBTQ people who face an increase in hate crimes across California.

There were 405 reported hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation bias (an increase of 3.6% from the previous year) in 2023, and 76 hate crime events motivated by anti-transgender bias (an increase of 7.04%). California’s attorney general Rob Bonta called those increased reports “alarming,” according to a report from Ethnic Media Services (EMS).

The state’s Department of Justice reports that despite the category increases cited above, there was a 7.1% decrease overall in hate crimes in 2023 from the previous year. read more

Juneteenth celebration draws community members to DeGarmo

by Karen Laslo and Leslie Layton | Posted June 19, 2024

photo by Karen Laslo

Juneteenth at DeGarmo Park in Chico.

A Juneteenth celebration, with food, music and speeches, drew a cross-section of the community to DeGarmo Park today to celebrate the federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery.

“We’re really going for a family-reunion type vibe,” said Christina Archie, an organizer with the group, Building Leaders, Advocates & Community Connections (BLACC) late in the afternoon. “We’re just wanting people to feel the love within the community. We’re working on that connection piece, community connection. It’s been really cool.”

BLACC organized the event because members felt it was important to “bring the community together” to celebrate a day that was “very important in American history, Black history,” Archie added. read more

University Farm director brings global perspective

Orellana's priorities: water, technology, community engagement

by Ken Smith | Posted April 5, 2024

photo by Ken Smith

Ricardo Orellana brings a global perspective to his role as the Chico State University farm director.

Ricardo Orellana grew up against the backdrop of a 12-year civil war in his native El Salvador, but his childhood memories are thankfully dominated by more peaceful recollections — namely, of working with the cows at his grandmother’s farm outside the small town of Usulutá.

“It wasn’t a large farm, just five or six acres with about 25 milking cows and a few other animals,” Orellana said during a recent interview. “She also grew cassavas, tomatoes, beans and corn. It was very rural, and how I fell in love with agriculture.”

In the ensuing decades, that passion has carried Orellana around the world, and most recently to Chico. Orellana was hired as the director of the Chico State University Farm last year, and this month will celebrate one year serving in that capacity. He is the first person of color and the first native Spanish speaker to hold that job, and brings a unique international perspective to the position. read more