“We’re in the diversity capital of the world,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, kicking off the USC School of Social Work’s “A Day of Social Justice” on Feb. 7 as part of its annual All School Day.

Los Angeles is home to people of all nations, all languages and all religions, he said, which should make the world take note that this county of 10 million people knows a bit about creating a community where residents can co-exist safely with a sense of purpose.

That hasn’t always been the case. All School Day was initiated after Los Angeles’ 1992 civil unrest resulted in acts of law-breaking compounded by existing racial tensions. Since then, social work students, faculty and community leaders have gathered each year to celebrate diversity through an exchange of ideas and to learn how to better communicate across differences in race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, social class and disability.

Baca, who considers law enforcement a specialized form of social work, appealed to the audience of future social workers to respect each other as miracles of life and to help those who don’t value their own miracle.

“America is the greatest experiment of human acceptance,” he said. “I think we’re obligated as human beings to cherish someone else’s humanity.”

Citing the infinite needs of humans, Baca told students they have a substantial job to perform and challenged them to embrace a greater vision of themselves and their roles as social workers.

“Social workers are leaders,” he said. “You can extend a hand of support to someone to lift them up to a higher place. There is no higher calling than teaching people how to repair themselves, how to have better hope and how to have confidence to overcome their difficulties.”

Taking a page from social work, Baca offered details about a prevention measure he established to help address Los Angeles’ gang problem. Vital Intervention Directional Alternatives brings troubled youth together every Saturday for 16 weeks, offering them mentors to build their confidence and give them the life skills to problem solve.

“The theory of gang intervention is taking a person from one level of thinking to a more effective level of thinking,” he said.

Following his remarks, Baca signed a student-initiated petition to the California State Legislature advocating for better treatment of the homeless.

“We have to do something about the homeless problem instead of just putting them in jail.”

The second part of the day included guest speakers exploring how inequality impacts education, poverty and discrimination. Moderated by Aggie Hoffman, an attorney specializing in immigration law, the panel of community leaders shared their perspectives on how society can better embody the ideals of tolerance and equality.

The Rev. Jerald Stinson, First Congregational Church of Long Beach, spoke about two very different Americas – one of the affluent, the educated and the powerful and the other of the poor, struggling and outcast.

“The divide between the two Americas has become deeper,” he said. “It’s important for us to look at life through the eyes of those who dwell in the other America. We need eyes to see what they see and ears to hear what they hear. We must even become their voices – the voices of the voiceless.”

He shared an anecdote about how homeless individuals had started sleeping outside his church in Long Beach. They weren’t convicted of any crimes, he said, but just people trying to make it through life. But many residents upset at having to look at these people took the matter to City Hall. The city prosecutor told the church to “abate the nuisances” or pay a fine of $1,000 a day.

“It really does matter where you stand, through whose eyes you look, through whose ears you hear,” Rev. Stinson said. “There is goodness, there is hope and there is promise in each and every one of our global brothers and sisters. May all of you who move into social work help the rest of us remember that.”

Ramona Ripston, executive director, American Civil Liberties Union, talked about confronting inequality in education and homelessness, recalling Martin Luther King’s march on Washington and plea for America to honor the constitution’s promise of equality for all.

“More than two centuries after the constitution was ratified, 149 years after the 14th amendment to the constitution promised equal protection to all, two generations after the landmark victories of the civil rights movement, racial inequality still exists,” Ripston said. “And other kinds as well -- education, income, death rates and treatment in the criminal justice system.”

She said inadequate education, lack of low income housing, substance abuse and lack of job skills contribute to the almost 90,000 people of all races who are homeless on the streets of Los Angeles every night.

“Low income housing is torn down so the affluent can enjoy new playgrounds,” she said, reminding the audience it happened with Dodger Stadium and now with the Staples Center, L.A. Live and the Grand Avenue Project. “And [it’s] all without ever accounting for how many low income housing units are demolished to make room for them.”

Rabbi Stephen Julius Stein, Wilshire Boulevard Temple, spoke about the role religion has played in introducing the last acceptable form of prejudice against men and women who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

“It’s difficult to confront because it’s completely hidden. It is not your gender, it is not your affluence and it is not your skin color,” he said. “But that prejudice is pervasive.”

In this country, he said, two-thirds of states have laws that allow employers to fire someone simply because she or he is lesbian or gay, and that person has no recourse.
Every homosexual is denied over 1,000 federal rights for which there is no recourse.

“We know homosexuals have a different sexual orientation and not necessarily a different moral orientation or spiritual orientation,” Rabbi Stein said. “Each and every one of us has a choice. We can choose to speak up or we can choose to use our intellectual power. We can choose to make a difference and speak out because it leads to paths of peace.”

Chaplain Javier Stauring, Office of Restorative Justice for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, talked about the juvenile justice system, specifically the impact incarceration has on families and the community.

“Our juvenile justice system is anything but equal,” he said, noting justice will not happen in a system fraught with structural inadequacies.

While California is a leader economically compared to the rest of the world, it’s also a leader in incarceration, he said. “This year, we’ll spend $9.2 billion on the prison system. That’s more than what we’ll spend on higher education.”

Chaplain Stauring said people may be quick to dismiss these young offenders as getting what they deserve so they must deal with the consequences of their actions. But, he argued for their redemption and the need for the nation to find its moral compass. He has witnessed all too often the de-sensitization and de-spiritualization these detention centers breed.

“This is not about us and them,” he said. “It affects all of us.”

He urged students to accept Sheriff Baca’s invitation to intern with the department and to stand with those in jail.

“Volunteers come to juvenile hall believing they can transform the life of a young man or woman,” he said. “But over and over again, what we see is the lives that are transformed are the adults who come in and visit with the incarcerated youth.”