Forum would let people speak out against intolerance

By LARRY MITCHELL - Staff Writer

Plans for a forum where people who have been treated intolerantly could talk about their experiences were initiated at a meeting in Chico Wednesday.

About 20 people who are trying to form a human-relations network in Butte County met at First Baptist Church in Chico.

Emily Alma, who represents a group called Beyond Violence, said it was a wonderful idea to hold such a forum, where victims of hate and intolerance could tell leaders in law enforcement and local government what had happened to them.

But it's also a risky endeavor, she added. "These are people who would be taking a big chance with their personal lives to speak publicly about their experiences. They might be talking about their bosses."

The idea of a human-relations network has grown out of work done by the Chico Area Interfaith Council, a group of local religious congregations.

"We want to spread the word of peace and acceptance and standing up against violence," said Rabbi Yitzhak Nates of Chico's Congregation Beth Israel.

Those attending Wednesday's meeting included people from Chico, Paradise and some other parts of the county. They represented a number of churches, Chico State University, the Chico Unified School District and other groups.

One woman at the meeting said it was a problem that groups that might be expected to experience intolerance, such as African-Americans and gays and lesbians, weren't represented. Several people agreed more needed to be done to reach out to such people.

Ultimately, the network aims to reduce intolerance in the county. Nates said the first task is letting people in various fields know about the human-relations effort.

Those attending Wednesday's meeting formed five committees of two to four people: community outreach, long-range planning, faith-based groups, education and youth and law and justice. They met briefly and planned separate meetings of their own.

The full group slated its next meeting for 7 p.m. May 15 at the Butte County Office of Education board room, 1859 Bird St. in Oroville.

The first forum was tentatively planned for November, and there was talk of having a second one in January.

Nates said the forums could represent 'the beginning of a dialogue and a cleansing and an awareness that we have things to do."

Wednesday's meeting was a follow-up on two days of discussions held earlier this month. Fred Persily, who heads a state association of human-relations organizations, came to Chico from San Francisco for those talks.