"Police investigating hate crime" (Feb. 5) and "Man arrested for
alleged civil right violation (Feb. 19) are headlines indicating the
enormous challenges associated with living in our diverse Burbank
community.
These acts of intolerance -- painted swastikas and hate speech -- are
examples of incidents that occur all too frequently in our city, even as
we enter the new century. Clearly there is much to be done to improve
human relations, how we relate to one another despite our differences and
how we interact with respect, dignity and honorable treatment.
We strongly believe each citizen can and should be valued for his or
her contribution to improving the quality of life in our neighborhoods.
Burbank Neighbors in Dialogue is one program of the Burbank Human
Relations Council that seeks to accomplish these goals by bringing
together people from diverse backgrounds and encouraging discussion of
diversity issues from personal and community perspectives. The dialogues
also move to action plans for improving the quality of life for members
of the Burbank community.
Our honorary chair for Neighbors in Dialogue 2000 is Burbank Police
Chief Thomas Hoefel. We invite all people who live and/or work in Burbank
age 15 and above to join us for our next round of dialogues beginning
Monday, from 7 to 9 p.m. at John Burroughs High School, 1920 Clark Ave.
The dialogues continue for five weeks and there is no cost for
participating.
For more information and registration, please call 759-1505. We
encourage you to bring your perspectives, experiences and vitality to the
endeavor of making hate speech, racial intolerance and social outcasting
merely relics of Burbank's past.
JEFFREY RING AND GWEN FLYNN are co-chairpersons of Neighbors in
Dialogue 2000.
