Los Amigos Teen Takes a Stand Against Hate Crime

A Los Amigos High School senior led the charge before the Orange County Board of Supervisors this week to advocate for a nonprofit that combats hate crimes.

Kathy Tran, a Los Amigos High School senior set to graduate Wednesday, shared her experience in working with the Orange County Human Relations Council in an effort to persuade county leaders to continue funding the nonprofit. In the end, Orange County supervisors Tuesday approved $252,000 in funding for the local nonprofit, $50,000 less than the group had requested.

The Orange County Human Relations Council in 2011 agreed to a five-year, $302,000 annual funding contract subject to annual review by the board. For the second year in a row, the supervisors kept the annual allocation at $50,000 less.

Tran told county leaders she got involved with the nonprofit when she was in seventh grade and that her work with the council led to her receive two exclusive scholarships.

The importance of the organization hit home for her when she led a Caesar Chavez day observance at her school in honor of the late labor leader and one of her classmates shouted out, "You're Asian. What do you know about Cesar Chavez?"

Tran encouraged the supervisors to restore the $50,000 in cuts to the council.

"Your investment in me is an investment in the future," she said.

At Supervisor Janet Nguyen's prodding, Tran said she was one of 10 seniors in Orange County to win a $7,500 Disney scholarship and one of a dozen local recipients of a Gates Millennium Scholarship because of her work with the council.

Supervisor Patricia Bates praised the organization's work, but added, "We are constrained financially."

Supervisor John Moorlach recommended $202,000 for the organization this fiscal year so it can "wean" itself off public funding in favor of private donations.

"This is an organization that I'm really pleased with in how they've been able to self-fund," Moorlach said. "It's an example of something we can get started and then it can go out on its own."

Moorlach said the council could be more independent and above politics if it did not receive any public funding.

"I want to continue to encourage their independence and wish them all the best," Moorlach said.

- City News Service