They came from around the city; some students, some from Long Beach State or the Police Department, community activists and plain old interested residents. But the people gathered around Councilmember Tonia Reyes-Uranga’s LGBT roundtable discussion were in search of the same thing: acceptance.
Members of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual) community were shown support for their bravery and encouraged to live unafraid of harassment. Reyes-Uranga called the open forum to invite discussion and find solutions to the problems that LGBT residents encounter, particularly students. Safety at school was discussed often, and the meeting was originally called in part because of the Oxnard murder of 15-year-old Lawrence King in his high school classroom.
The Long Beach Police Department expressed their concern about the situation and asked that they be considered a resource in the fight against hate crimes. They are not taken lightly by the Department, and they encouraged all present to report incidents so that proper action can be taken. Officers noted that the department has come a long way in tolerance and acceptance, but that there is still more work to be done.
Representatives from the Cal State Long Beach Student Services Department expressed their desire to create a safe, comfortable campus experience for LGBT students, pointing to their successful Hate Crimes Forum and the Lavender Graduation, open to friends and members of the LGBT community.
But the biggest point of discussion focused on keeping students in the Long Beach Unified School District safe. Horror stories of harassment and borderline hate crimes were shared to stress the severity of the issue. Kim Woods, Executive Director of The Center in Long Beach, pointed to Cabrillo High’s Safe Zone program, which is comprised of friends and members of the LGBT community that work to spread acceptance among their peers. It is the only program of its kind in the district, something that Woods and Reyes-Uranga would like to see changed.
Noticeably absent from the discussion were representatives from LBUSD, which all agreed would have been beneficial. Woods described past frustrations in her efforts to expand Safe Zone to other district schools, and Reyes-Uranga was visibly disappointed by the no-show, though it is not immediately clear who was invited or informed of the meeting. Cabrillo High lies in the Councilmember’s Seventh District, and she expressed a desire to see the program expand, as well.
Reyes-Uranga was joined by members of the City Manager staff, all agreeing to schedule similar meetings in the future to discuss further options for increasing safety in the community.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor