DIALOGUE ON RACIAL HEALING KICKS OFF.Byline: Angie Valencia-Martinez Staff Writer NEWBURY PARK - After a string of highly publicized hate crimes in east Ventura County, African-American leaders met with community activists and school officials Monday to begin a dialogue on race issues. The meeting followed the recent beating of a black juvenile in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. by four white teenagers, and the destruction of a menorah menorah Multibranched candelabra used by Jews during the festival of Hanukkah. It holds nine candles (or has nine receptacles for oil). Eight of the candles stand for the eight days of Hanukkah—one is lit the first day, two the second, and so on. at The Oaks shopping center shopping center, a concentration of retail, service, and entertainment enterprises designed to serve the surrounding region. The modern shopping center differs from its antecedents—bazaars and marketplaces—in that the shops are usually amalgamated into in Thousand Oaks late last year. Participants in the forum, held at the Newbury Park Library, called for understanding and acceptance of all cultures and religions to combat rising conflicts in schools. About 50 people attended the two-hour presentation. ``People shouldn't have to be the same,'' said Marcy Goldberg, principal of Adat Elohim of the Conejo Valley religious school. ``We should understand we're different, and that's OK.'' As for the racially motivated beating in Simi Valley by four teens with ties to white supremacists, she said: ``They are just looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a place. A place to belong.'' Sponsored by the Ventura County Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. , the dialogue on racial reconciliation included panelists Charles Weis, county schools superintendent; Debbie Sandland, a member of the Simi Valley school board; John Hatcher, representative of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), organization composed mainly of American blacks, but with many white members, whose goal is the end of racial discrimination and segregation. ; and Ferial fe·ri·a n. pl. fe·ri·as or fe·ri·ae A weekday on a church calendar on which no feast is observed. [Medieval Latin f Masry, a Saudi-American who unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the California Assembly - among others. ``I face a lot of misunderstanding of Islam. The problem is a lot of people don't understand Islam. There is a fear ... and that's part of the problem,'' said Masry. The objective of the public discussion was to create an open dialogue concerning racial and cultural relations among young people countywide. ``We need to look at how we integrate our education system and make it work for us,'' said Hatcher. ``It's coming from the environment we have created in our community.'' Angie Valencia-Martinez, (805) 583-7604 angie.valencia(at)dailynews.com |
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