LA for All, an annual weeklong campaign in solidarity against hate and discrimination in the city of Los Angeles, starts Monday.
“We are proud to be a city that embraces everybody, a city that does not tolerate hate, and I want to wish everyone a happy LA for All Week,” Mayor Karen Bass said about the campaign.
Alongside Bass, the Civil and Human Rights + Equity Department, also known as LA Civil Rights, will host an LA for All Day celebration at City Hall on Thursday, where almost a dozen of city structures from the Hollywood Bowl to City Hall, and Los Angeles International Airport, will be lit up in the campaign’s mosaic of colors.
“When I became mayor, I called on every Angeleno to lock arms to move Los Angeles forward,” Bass said. “Our LA Civil Rights Department continues to do that work by providing resources to help fight injustices and confront hatred in our city.”
The weeklong celebration will include a declaration of LA for All Week by the City Council, World Peace Day celebrations at the city’s Peace and Healing Centers, an #LAforAll lighting ceremony on the steps of City Hall, and a day of service dedicated to former Councilman Tom LaBonge.
LA Civil Rights Executive Director Capri Maddox said the department has worked to deter hate and discrimination in the city since the launch of the campaign in 2020. The campaign is designed to bring city and community leaders together to celebrate strength in diversity and grow connections across cultures and communities.
“In our second year, when we launched LA for All, we were intentional about ensuring that everyone knew that hate has no home in Los Angeles, and that we were building an inclusive L.A. for everyone,” Maddox said in a statement. “As we face rising hate crimes, marginalized communities under attack, and neighborhoods needing support, we stand ready to shape a more just and equitable Los Angeles.”
In June, the Los Angeles Police Department reported hate crimes in the city rose by 15% in 2022. The department attributed the increase in hate crimes in part of expanded outreach efforts to inform and encourage the city’s most vulnerable communities to report such crimes.
The department’s analysis revealed 701 hate crimes and hate incidents in 2022, compared with 610 in 2021. Ninety of those were anti-Hispanic hate crimes, a decrease of 12% from 2021; 180 were anti-Black hate crimes, an increase of 36%; and 33 were anti-Asian hate crimes, which represents a 371% increase from the seven anti-Asian hate crimes reported in 2019, prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
In response to the rise in hate crimes, LAPD is looking to establish a new, dedicated land line to initiate an officer response to such crimes, as well as a database to consolidate hate crime data.
According to LA Civil Rights, its campaign has grown to include 21 languages and has been displayed on more than 5,000 ad spaces in Greater Los Angeles, including trains and buses, city parks and libraries, and hundreds of local businesses. The campaign won an advertising award last year from the American Advertising Awards.
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