Culver City School Hate Crime Prompts Condemnation From Local Officials

CULVER CITY, CA — After two boys were arrested last month for tagging racist and homophobia graffiti on a Culver City elementary school, local officials gathered for a news conference where they condemned hate speech.

Officers responded to El Marino Elementary School on July 25, where they discovered a broken classroom window and graffiti in several areas of campus, including hate speech targeting Black and LGBTQ people. Two boys were arrested the following week and released to their parents, according to officials.

The boys are from Los Angeles, neither attends Culver City schools, police said.

The Culver City Unified School District and the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations held a joint news conference Thursday to decry the incident and take a stand against hate speech.

"I hope the young people who are here understand that the grownups who are standing in front of you to acknowledge that behavior was unacceptable," Robin Toma, executive director of commission said. "We as a community aren't going to stand for it."

Toma said the incident was not isolated. "We are in a special period in which we have not seen a decline in the number of hate crimes reported in many years ... since 2014, when we started to see the rise that has gone pretty much unabated," he said.

County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who represents the 2nd District, which includes Culver City, said "hate is a learned behavior and it starts at home."

Culver City Mayor Yasmine-Imani McMorrin said she believes Thursday's action will provide students with a safer and more inclusive environment this school year.

"This is what happens when elected officials at every single level of government together with everyday neighbors with our teachers, our students, our faith-based organizations and community partners to tackle the very pressing issue of hate at our schools," CCUSD board member Triston Ezidore said. "It has no place in our community and it has no place in our society."

The county commission leads the LA vs Hate initiative, which includes tracking, preventing and offering support for acts of hate in the county. Resources are available in multiple languages online or by calling 211.

Tony Thurmond, California Superintendent of Public Instruction, also joined local leaders, and highlighted the state's efforts to combat hate. He noted some $20 million in grants that have been made available to school districts for anti-bias education.

"It is sad that we have to come together around these circumstances, but I want to give props to this district for being courageous to say, `Let's talk about it,"' Thurmond said. "When hate occurs ... people want to sweep it under the rug, and it must be addressed directly."

City News Service contributed to this report.