New Santa Ana | Category Archives: Civil Rights

The City of Santa Ana shuts down free speech at the Fiestas Patrias event

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Civil Rights, Marijuana, Politics, Santa Ana 16 Comments

SAPD talk to protesters at the Fiestas Patrias

The Measure CC campaign (Santa Ana Medical Marijuana Initiative) were all set to run a booth at this weekend’s Fiestas Patrias event in Downtown Santa Ana when they got a call from Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Director Gerardo Mouet.

Mouet cancelled their booth. He said that it was not his policy to allow any political booths. The Measure CC campaign director had previously been told by another City of Santa Ana employee that he got an internal email that stated that the Measure CC booth would be a “public safety risk.”

The Measure CC campaign was previously told that it would be okay for them to participate in the Fiestas Patrias event as their goal was to register and educate voters. Continue reading→

DeColores Queer Orange County Annual Conference set for 9/6

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civil Rights, Entertainment, LGBT, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Redefining Mi Familia

Join DeColores Queer Orange County for our 5th Annual Community Conference! The theme for this year’s conference is “Redefining Mi Familia: Re-membering our histories, bodies, and communities.”

As a community we aim to redefine “famiia” and what that looks like for Queer and Trans Folks of Color. We are re-membering parts of us that have been fragmented (i.e. our histories, bodies, and communities) in order to be whole again and no longer compromise who we are.

The event will take place this Saturday September 6, 2014, from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm at Latino Health Access, located at 450 W 4th St, Suite 130, in Santa Ana. Continue reading→

La Raza to Gaza event set for Sep. 6 at El Centro Cultural de Mexico

Posted on September 1, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civil Rights, Entertainment, Movies, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Colectivo Tonantzin will hosting a screening of the film “Roadmap to Apartheid” on Saturday, Sep. 6, 2014, from 4 to 8 pm.

There will be:

Messages from Palestinian Organizations
A post movie discussion
Food and Drinks
Palestinian products for purchase
Education material

Continue reading→

Gentrifiers and Latinos protesting against police brutality face off in DTSA

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civil Rights, Latinos, Police Brutality, Racism, Santa Ana 39 Comments

American Barber Shop employees

Employees of a business called the American Barbershop allegedly hurled racist insults at a group of mostly Latino protesters who had gathered on Friday, August 15, 2014 to held a vigil last night at Plaza Santa Ana, against police brutality.

A number of employees of this business were reportedly caught on video and in photos saying racial slurs and giving the middle finger to the crowd and members of the press. Members of the Santa Ana Police Department were there at the time acting as personal security to the East End businesses. Continue reading→

The OC Human Relations Commission hosts an exhibit on the Civil Rights Act

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civil Rights, Entertainment, Orange County, Politics, Santa Ana Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Rusty Kennedy 714-567-7465

Civil Rights History Exhibit Opens on day of the Signing of the Civil Rights Act 50 Years Ago

OC Human Relations Assembles Historic Displays

OC Civil Rights History Exhibit Opening on July 2, 2014, which is the 50th Anniversary of the day that President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the US Civil Rights Act into law. This bi-partisan bill set the basic standard, the consensus, the unifying vision of the United States that all people have a right to live free from discrimination based on the color of their skin, their religion or other aspects of their being. Continue reading→

Santa Ana CopWatch is ready for tonight’s SAPD Easter Cruising crackdown

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civic Affairs, Civil Rights, CopWatch, Santa Ana 1 Comment

The Battle for Bristol Street

By Santa Ana CopWatch

Every year on Easter Sunday SAPD puts our city on lockdown in an attempt to keep us in our homes and limit cruising. They block off all the major streets making it hard to move around Santa Ana. The irony is that they say it’s to prevent “grid-lock”. They also have extra police pulling over anyone they can for any reason they can come up with. Our Easter Sunday basically becomes Santa Ana Martial Law.

The real reason for these actions by the city and the police is rooted in racism and their need to suppress a popular gathering of the people. In other words, they don’t want brown people gathering in the streets. Continue reading→

OC Human Relations’ Legacy Awards to honor civil rights heroes on 5/8

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Art Pedroza Posted in Anaheim, Charities, Civil Rights, Orange County, Santa Ana Leave a comment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OC Human Relations’ Legacy Awards to Honor Orange County’s Civil Rights Heroes on May 8

*Commemorating 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act*

(Santa Ana)— In 1966, Dorothy Mulkey, an African American Orange County resident, challenged Proposition 14 after a Santa Ana landlord refused to rent a vacant apartment to her family. Three years earlier, in 1963, the California State Legislature had passed the Rumford Act, also known as the “fair housing act,” which declared that racial discrimination in housing rental or sales was against the law. In response, the California Association of Realtors sponsored Proposition 14 to overthrow the Rumford Fair Housing Act. Proposition 14 passed in a vote of 3 to 1 in Orange County. The ACLU and the Orange County Fair Housing Council took her case all the way to the Supreme Court, and in 1967 the court declared Prop 14 unconstitutional. Landlords no longer could refuse to rent to people because of their skin color, religion or ethnicity. Continue reading→

Group sues the City of Orange over sex offender Halloween sign ordinance

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civil Rights, Courts, Crime, Orange, Santa Ana Leave a comment

California Reform Sex Offender Laws, an advocacy group, has filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Halloween ordinance in Orange that requires sex offenders to post a sign on the front door of their residence notifying trick-or-treaters that no candy is available, according to the O.C. Register.

The signs, which are mandated by the city, read “no candy or treats at this residence,” and must be no smaller than 12 inches by 24 inches. The ordinance, passed in 2010, also bans sex offenders from putting out holiday decorations, leaving outdoor lights on, and answering the door for children on Oct. 31, according to KTLA. Continue reading→

Rallies set to demand justice for Jesus Aguirre, on Sep. 26 in Santa Ana

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civil Rights, Entertainment, Santa Ana 2 Comments

There are two rallies coming up on Santa Ana on behalf of Jesus Aguirre, who was arrested by Buena Park police, in March of 2010, on charges of the attempted murder of Ramon Magaña, who had been shot at with a shotgun with birdshot ammunition. Magaña, though, who suffered bruises and non-life threatening wounds, testified in court that Jesus was not responsible for the shooting. Ramon’s mother and sister, who witnessed the shooting, also stated that Jesus did not participate in the crime and was not present during the incident.

The rallies are set for Thursday, September 26, 2013, at 11:30 am and at 1:00 pm, at 601 West Santa Ana Blvd., in Santa Ana. Click here to RSVP for the first rally and here to RSVP for the second rally. Continue reading→

OC MLK 50th Anniversary March & Rally set for Sep. 1 at Sasscer Park

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civil Rights, Entertainment, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington DC will be commemorated with a March and a Rally on September 1, from 2 pm until 6 pm, at Sasscer Park, located at 5th and Ross St. in Downtown Santa Ana.

“Even as we acknowledged what has been accomplished, it is time for us to actively work to fulfill the promise of justice for all.”

Participating organizations include: Continue reading→

Another Santa Ana Trayvon Martin protest set for July 18

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civil Rights, Entertainment, Santa Ana Leave a comment

A protest in support of Travyon Martin and against the “racist system” will be held in Santa Ana on July 18, 2013, from 6:00 pm until 8:30 pm, at 1104 S. Bristol St @ McFadden Ave., in Santa Ana.

The event organizers urge you to bring signs , banners, noise makers and people.

Here is a video of a protest held on Tuesday night (click here to see photos of that event too): Continue reading→

Protest for Trayvon Martin set for this Thursday night, in Santa Ana

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civil Rights, Entertainment, Santa Ana 1 Comment

A Santa Ana Protest for Trayvon Martin is set for this Thursday, July 18, 2013, from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm, at 1104 S. Bristol St. @ McFadden Ave., in Santa Ana.

The Protest organizers urge you to support Travyon Martin and to speak out “against this racist system.” Bring signs , banners ,noise makers and people .

On the rainy evening of February 26th, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman inside his own gated Sanford, Florida community where he was living with his father, stepmother and little brother. Continue reading→

Santa Ana Candlelight Vigil for Trayvon Martin set for this Tuesday night

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civil Rights, Entertainment, Santa Ana Leave a comment

There will be Candlelight Vigil for Trayvon Martin, this Tuesday, July 16, 2013, at 3rd and Ross in Santa Ana at 8 pm.

Message from the event organizers: It is not okay to stalk another person who you stereotyped as a criminal and claim self defense after you pick a fight with him, regardless of what color skin you have. Justice for Trayvon Martin! Continue reading→

Celebrate the Supreme Court Prop 8 and DOMA decisions tonight in Santa Ana

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civil Rights, Courts, Entertainment, LGBT, Santa Ana Leave a comment

In a 5-4 ruling in United States v. Windsor, the court struck down a provision of the 17-year-old Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that denies federal benefits — like Social Security benefits or the ability to file joint tax returns — to same-sex couples legally married, according to CBS News.

The Supreme Court also cleared the way Wednesday for same-sex marriages to resume in California as the justices, in a procedural ruling, turned away the defenders of Proposition 8. Chief Justice John Roberts, speaking for the 5-4 majority, said the private sponsors of Prop. 8 did not have legal standing to appeal after the ballot measure was struck down by a federal judge in San Francisco, according to the Los Angeles Times.

These landmark decisions will be celebrated by Day of Decision Orange County today, June 26. 2013, in Santa Ana, at 6:30 pm at the Old Orange County Courthouse, located at 211 W. Santa Ana Blvd. Continue reading→

Why the SAPD shot Jason Hallstrom remains a real mystery

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Art Pedroza Posted in Civil Rights, Crime, Public Safety, Santa Ana 8 Comments

Jason Hallstrom at dinner with the Nunley family

Jason Hallstrom, pictured on the right

Many weeks have passed since Jason “Hoss” Hallstrom was shot dead by the SAPD, after he and his friend Travis Mock pulled into the parking lot at the Target on Grand and 17th, in Santa Ana. We are still waiting for the report from the Orange County District Attorney, which has to investigate all police shootings in Orange County. But some of the pieces of this sordid puzzle have been put together by Hallstrom’s friend, Tiffany Nunley. Here is her story:

Travis Mock appeared in West Court, the morning of the shooting, for the case he was currently out on bail for. He never told this to anyone previously. This appears to debunk the SAPD’s story about a car chase due to a stolen car. Continue reading→