Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga will lead a roundtable discussion Wednesday morning on maintaining a safe environment for gay and lesbian residents in Long Beach, with a particluar focus on Long Beach Unified School District. She hopes the forum will lead to a cohesive partnership with local activist organizations and large city groups. The meeting will be hosted by Reyes-Uranga and the city’s Human Dignity Office at 10:30am, in the LBPD Community Room at 400 W. Broadway.
The event is timely, the Councilmember says, because of developments in the legality of same-sex marriage and the untimely death of Lawrence King, a homosexual Oxnard high school student who was killed in class earlier in 2008. It is one of the main reasons for Reyes Uranga’s focus on partnership with local schools.
“We’re trying to bring institutions together with the community to get them to put their money where their mouth is and help our programs,” she said yesterday, displeased that LBUSD had not yet replied to her invitation to the event. Cabrillo High School lies in Reyes Uranga’s jurisdiction and features the Safe Zone Program, which counts both straight and homosexual students as members, working to erase campus tensions and increase understanding.
“How do you have a successful Safe Zone program in schools if no one wants to show up to these discussions?” the Councilmember asked rhetorically, noting that Safe Zone is funded by Long Beach Pride, and is not an institutional program. Reyes Uranga has received high interest in the discussion, and several other community representatives will be in attendance from The Center, Cal State Long Beach, and many more.
The meeting is open to all members of the public.
“It’s a discussion on providing safety and bridiging community organizations,” says Reyes Uranga, who promises that the forum is the first of many.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor