In the race of life,
everyone must win,
forum speaker says
By Janice Hayes-Kyser
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES – Honest, committed and authentic leadership across racial, ethnic and gender lines is the only thing that will stop the proliferation of hate in America, a video panel of speakers said during a virtual town hall forum Dec. 17.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters and Black media executive Ben Chavis, speaking in pre-recorded commentaries, said while Black and brown people are often the target of discrimination and bigotry, they aren’t solely responsible for eradicating it.
All Americans — not just the disenfranchised — must come together to fight the spread of hate in America, they said.
“It is not our responsibility [as Black people] to stop hate,” said Bass, a longtime community activist and U.S. congresswoman before becoming the city’s mayor. “It is society’s responsibility to stop hate.”
Waters, who represents California’s 43rd Congressional District, agreed.
“Hate can be reduced and stemmed, but it will take collective effort,” the longtime congresswoman said. “We need honest leaders, community leaders willing to put in some time and effort [to overcome] racism.”
Chavis, president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, added: “It will take a multicultural, multi-lingual and multi-ethnic plan to stop the hate.”
The candid, videotaped discussion kicked off a virtual town hall forum — “Navigating Hate in 2025 and Beyond” — designed to identify practical and strategic things oppressed people can do to deal with hate and racism in upcoming months and years, organizers said.
Forum presenter Nathan Sessoms said stopping hate should start with individuals taking a long, hard look in the mirror to see how they are showing up in the world.
“On the micro level, it begins with each of us asking ourselves if we are being the best version of ourselves,” said Sessoms, a sociology and urban studies professor at Loyola Marymount University. “On the macro level, we need to decide what our objectives are as a community and strategize practical steps to achieve them.”
Forum participants said confronting injustice and living with genuine compassion and understanding also are key to overcoming hate in society. Just as society has cultivated a consciousness of hate, they said, it can also harvest a spirit of love.
“Love is the answer to what appears to be our problem,” said participant Bernita Walker. “We have to step out on boldness and fight back by highlighting what we have in common — our shared humanity.”
Sessoms agreed, adding that finding common ground among diverse populations is crucial.
“We have to move away from the capitalist mindset of winners and losers to a more distributive model where all — rather than us and them — is the model and everyone gets what they need and we all win,” Sessoms said.
“In our battle against hate, let’s start calling people in and not calling them out,” he added.
Chavis, also a former director of the national NAACP, said society needs to embrace one simple concept: At the end of the day, there’s only one race — the human race.
“When we start backing away from humanity as our underlying guiding principal, we give rise to hatred.”
Sponsored by The Los Angeles Wave and Jenesse Center — a domestic violence agency — the forum was an outgrowth of the state’s Stop The Hate campaign, funded by the California Department of Social Services. The campaign consists of grassroots organizations working collectively to stop the rising tide of hate in America.
The forum was convened in response to the fear and panic some people expressed after the Nov. 5 election of Republican President Donald Trump, organizers said. But other organizers said dealing with racism in America is no novel reality.
“We’ve been here before. Racism is not new. Hate against Black and brown people is not new,” said forum organizer Gregory J. Huskisson, editor of the Wave.
“So like previous generations, we will do what we have to do — strategically and systematically — to as the old folks used to say, ‘Make a way out of no way.’”
Janice Hayes Kyser is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers.
This resource was supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Libraryvia California Black Media as part of the Stop the Hate Program. The program is supported by partnership with 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.
