LOS ANGELES - More than a dozen city structures lit up and events were underway September 22, 2022 for the city's first-ever 'LA For All Day,' a celebration of the city's diversity and unity against hate hosted by the LA Civil Rights Department.
At the Wall Las Memorias monument in Lincoln Park, LA Civil Rights hosted a community resource fair with live music from Los Angeles Mariachis and Hwarang Youth Foundation, a poetry reading by Los Angeles County Youth Poet Laureate Salome Agbaroji, food trucks, an awards program and more. Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Controller Ron Galperin, and City Councilmembers John Lee, Kevin de León and Curren Price were all in attendance to welcome LA For All day and celebrate LA's vital multiculturalism.
The event comes as hate crimes continue to rise in Los Angeles, after setting the record for the most recorded hate crimes of any large U.S. city last year.
"We could not just sit by and watch our beautiful city be divided in this way, because we knew that an attack against any one of us is an attack against all of us," LA Civil Rights Executive Director Capri Maddox said at the Lincoln Park event. "We must make it known that Los Angeles is for everyone, and that we believe in inclusion not exclusion."
LA For All Day also marked one year of the LA For All campaign, launched in 2021 to share hate crime reporting resources and today the city's largest anti-hate crime PSA. The LA For All campaign has been featured on more than 5,000 ad spaces in 18 languages, and won an award in advertising earlier this year. The LA Civil Rights department has also distributed more than 1,000 posters through it's free poster request program. Click here to learn more.
Iconic locations across Los Angeles also lit up in the mosaic of colors designed by LA For All artist Masaki Koike on September 22nd. LA City Hall, Union Station, the US Bank Tower, the pylons at LAX, the 6th Street Viaduct, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, USC’s Galen Center, Metro Headquarters, the LA Zoo, The LAFC Banc of California Stadium, Dodger Stadium, and the Herald Examiner Building all participated.