Activists turn from personal pain to community healing Marginalized and minority communities see uptick in threats, harassment

photo by Leslie Layton
In the last several months, Bethel AME Church has been the target of “cryptic messages.”

by Natalie Hanson
June 12

At a time when hate-fueled speech, crime and violence are threatening marginalized communities nationwide, it often falls on grassroots community movements to create change and promote healing from injustice, experts say.

Chico has tragically faced numerous incidents of hate against people who have historically faced discrimination. The city’s oldest Black church, Bethel African Methodist Episcopalian Church (AME), has reported repeated vandalism since 2020. Art by indigenous organizers has been vandalized. Unhoused people face ongoing verbal harassment and death threats. Anti-Semetic flyers have been delivered to homes across the city several times this year. Stonewall Alliance Chico says it is aware of growing fears of harassment, particularly among LGBTQ youth who face calls for public schools to repeal codes protecting their privacy to avoid discrimination. read more

Chico man: Incident with police began with racial profiling State of California gathers data on policing practices

photo by Karen Laslo
Steve Eaton wants to discuss policing in Chico.

by Leslie Layton
posted May 31

Steve Eaton is still troubled by what happened to him on the last day of March as he drove down an unmarked residential street in the part of old Chico known as The Avenues.

When he was pulled over by a Chico police officer, he remembers telling himself to stay calm and be polite. Surely whatever problem there was would be resolved quickly. But Eaton says his California driver’s license and an obliging attitude didn’t satisfy Officer Juan Valencia, who contended from the start that the 44-year-old African American man had been driving “erratically.” read more

Region’s lawmakers promote new anti-trans laws LaMalfa, Gallagher join fervent nationwide crackdown on civil rights of trans people

photo courtesy of EMS
Nadine Smith: ‘They were an easy target.’

by Natalie Hanson
posted May 17

Across the United States, fervor for passing anti-trans laws has reached an all-time high within the political right -– affecting even counties in politically “blue” states, such as Butte.

In some states, health care providers already face felony charges for offering gender-affirming care. Advocates for the trans community say such care is integral for a successful transition. read more

In preliminary ruling, judge backs CUSD policy on privacy Schools can't out their transgender students, Mendez says in denying injunction

Senior U.S. District Judge John Mendez

by Leslie Layton & Natalie Hanson
posted March 13

An effort to force Chico Unified School District (CUSD) staff to obtain “informed consent” from parents before “socially transitioning” a youth who identifies as transgender has stalled in federal court.

A federal judge has denied a request made in the Regino v. Staley lawsuit, filed against CUSD over a gender identity case, that the district be immediately stopped from accomodating any student who identifies with a gender different than what appears on school records without first contacting the parents. read more

Lawsuit over gender identity, children’s privacy, creates turmoil ACLU files motion, asking to join with CUSD defendants

Aurora Regino, who grew up in Chico, has filed suit against CUSD trustees and the superintendent.

by Leslie Layton & Natalie Hanson
posted March 7

A lawsuit filed against Chico Unified over its response to a student who was questioning their gender identity has opened a new front for Butte County culture wars.

The lawsuit, Regino v. Staley, filed Jan. 6 in federal court in the Eastern District of California, alleges that a school counselor at Sierra View Elementary coaxed a student into adopting a male identity after the fifth-grader confided that they “felt like a boy.” The lawsuit names as defendants the Board of Education and Chico Unified (CUSD) Superintendent Kelly Staley. read more

Homeless people in Chico victimized Should violent acts targeting unhoused be treated as hate crimes?

photo by Manuel Ortiz, EMS
Jimbo Slice

by Peter Schurmann, Ethnic Media Services
posted Feb. 7

The Eaton-Cohasset homeless encampment sits on Chico’s northern edge, a motley assortment of weathered tents, a couple of dumpsters and a port-o-potty that juts up from the muddy gravel.

With hate crimes targeting racial, religious, and sexual minorities on the rise nationwide, residents here say they’re being targeted for another reason: because they’re homeless. read more