A community walk and state hearing focused on combating hate and discrimination in schools will bring together civic leaders, students and residents in Pasadena today as part of the city’s United Against Hate Week.
The Walk to Freedom begins at 8:30 a.m. at Day One, 175 N. Euclid Ave. At 9:30 a.m., participants will have the choice to either walk to City Hall alongside community partners or remain at Day One for continued activities, with the procession concluding at City Hall for an 11 a.m. closing ceremony, according to event organizers.
At 11:30 a.m., the California Commission on the State of Hate will convene a public hearing in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave., to gather testimony on hate and discrimination in K-12 education. The hearing is scheduled to run until 2:30 p.m.
The hearing comes as California faces rising hate incidents, particularly affecting youth in schools. Recent data from the California Health Interview Survey shows 83% of adolescents who experienced hate encountered it at school, making educational settings the most common location for such incidents involving young people.
The commission, established by the state Legislature to investigate and combat hate activity in California, will accept public testimony from students, families, educators and school board members both in person and via Zoom (Webinar ID: 813 8181 8016), organizers said. The hearing is co-organized by Women in NAACP (WIN) – Pasadena and the office of Councilmember Tyron Hampton.
Los Angeles County recorded 1,350 hate crimes in 2023, a 45% increase from 930 in 2022 and the highest number since the county began tracking such incidents in 1980, according to the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations’ 2023 Hate Crime Report.
Assemblyman John Harabedian, who represents California’s 41st Assembly District including Pasadena, and Jennifer Hall Lee, president of the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education, are listed among officials who will participate in the event.
The Western Justice Center is organizing the walk in partnership with the Pasadena Human Relations Commission and a coalition including Day One, Collaborate PASadena, the Center for Restorative Justice, the NAACP Pasadena Branch, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the San Gabriel Valley Jewish Federation and Stars.
All 23 Pasadena Unified schools have received training in restorative practices and peer mediation from the Western Justice Center, according to event organizers.
The events mark the conclusion of United Against Hate Week, which Mayor Victor M. Gordo proclaimed for Oct. 19-25. The proclamation also designated October 2025 as Bullying Prevention Awareness Month. This is Pasadena’s fourth year participating in the initiative, which began in the Bay Area in 2017.
The walk is free and open to all residents. For information, contact Julio Esperias at jesperias@westernjustice.org.
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