By Aryka Randall, Contributing Writer
The first quarter of 2024 has arrived and updates on where San Diego stands in making an effort to end hate crimes are in. While things have gotten better for the certain groups idk the students and parents in Temecula Valley Unified School District, they’ve gotten progressively worse in San Diego County as a whole.
The statistical trend for hate crimes across the nation had a general increase with San Diego coming in second to Houston for the largest spike in incidents related to hate crimes between 2022 and 2023. San Diego had a staggering 47% increase in hate crimes with a record of 54 cases overall making it the largest increase San Diego has seen in over 15 years. The Jewish community has also become the number one group experiencing hate crimes in San Diego which is speculated to be a result of the conflict overseas.
One of the more prominent hate crimes that took place in San Diego last year was between three Black men and 17 members of the Hells Angels biker gang in Ocean Beach. The attack left one man unconscious and a second man in critical condition with stab wounds to his chest. All of the Hells Angels involved in the attack have since been brought up on charges and Troy Scholder, the biker who stabbed one of the men in Ocean Beach, has been charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon for his actions. The remainder of the group faces various charges and has been ordered to end communication with each other. According to a press release from the District Attorney’s office, 42 firearms and a number of illegal drugs were also found in possession of the Hells Angel gang during their arrest.
A hostile environment pertaining to race and sexuality has also been created in Coronado Island where the community has come together to confront Librarians who continue to push back against book bans and the censorship of education. The community wants books pertaining to the LGBTQ community pulled from shelves, saying kids shouldn’t be reading anything pertaining to sexuality. Opposing sides have said that the books don’t include any dialogue about sexuality, and that they are simply stories that represent different kinds of families and people.
As the controversy continues, Coronado officials have come to begin working on a response to several letters insinuating that librarians discriminated against one of the concerned Moms in Coronado by denying her the opportunity to host reading sessions for kids based on books with religious, and patriotic themes. No update on whether any of the books deemed problematic will be pulled from the shelves or not.
Circling back around to active book bans, at the end of last year in December 2023 Attorney General Rob Bonta filed an amicus brief in the Riverside County Superior Court in Mae M. v. Komrosky in solidarity with teachers, students, and parents. Bonta sided with students, parents and teachers based on the premise that TVUSD Board Trustees Resolution 21 violates students constitutional and statutory rights and would censor important works like Native American history, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.
“Schools have an obligation to provide a safe and inclusive learning environment, with curricula that reflect the contributions of California’s diverse communities,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Temecula Valley Unified policies banning inclusive curriculum and forcibly outing transgender and gender-nonconforming students single out California’s most vulnerable individuals, severely harming their well-being and academic success. In the face of ongoing attacks in California and across the nation, my office will continue to stand up against any measures that compromise the civil rights of students.”
On September 25th, 2023 Governor Newsom filed Assembly Bill 1078 with the Secretary of State, essentially banning book bans in California. Bill 1078 will allow students, parents, and teachers to file complaints against local educational entities that limit, or prohibit the use of inclusive textbooks, instructional materials or school library materials in violation of the California FAIR (Fair, Accurate, Inclusive, and Respectful Education) Act. The bill also opens the floor for immediate intervention by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SSPI), as well as the assessment of monetary penalties upon school districts that do not provide sufficient textbooks or course materials to students. It will be interesting to see how this molds the landscape for in class curriculums this year.
Here’s hoping there’s less hate in 2024.
This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program. To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to CA vs Hate.
