TAAL Statement: We Warned Glendale and Los Angeles County About Anti-Armenian Hate. They Failed to Act
I TOLD YOU SO.
In 2023, anti-Armenian flyers calling for hatred and violence against Armenians appeared across Glendale.
We warned the City of Glendale and Los Angeles County that condemning a flyer AFTER it appears is not a hate-prevention strategy.
They failed to act.
Now it has happened again.
This week, anti-Armenian hate material was distributed near Glenoaks Elementary School.
Near CHILDREN.
Nobody in Glendale or LA County leadership gets to act shocked.
You were warned.
Truth And Accountability League (TAAL) literally brought you into a room in 2023 and asked: What are you going to do so this does not keep happening?
TAAL organized the “Stand TAAL to Hate” Town Hall because we understood that anti-Armenian hate could not be addressed with press releases, photo ops and carefully rehearsed statements.
TAAL Founder and Chair Vic Gerami moderated it.
Dan Brotman was Mayor of Glendale at the time and represented the city at our Town Hall.
LA County Human Relations Commission Executive Director Robin Toma was also there.
We put the people responsible for responding to hate directly in front of the Armenian community and asked them what they were going to DO.
Watch Gerami’s exchange with then-Mayor Dan Brotman here.
Watch the full “Stand TAAL to Hate” Town Hall here.
Gerami asked Mayor Brotman what Glendale was doing to EDUCATE the public, address anti-Armenian hate and PREVENT something like this from happening again.
That was his opportunity, as Mayor, to explain what concrete action Glendale was taking.
Instead, he deflected.
During that exchange, he referred to Armenians as a “niche” and made remarks about Armenians “clawing” their way upward.
In Glendale.
A city where Armenians are the largest single ethnic community, larger than any other individual ethnic group in Glendale.
And because the U.S. Census does not provide a separate Armenian racial or ethnic category, even official numbers do not fully capture the community’s size.
We are way beyond “niche.”
Think about that.
Imagine a mayor responding that way at a town hall convened because another major ethnic community had just been targeted with hate propaganda.
Imagine referring to that community as “niche” while supposedly discussing how government would protect it.
And imagine if the target had been a different, politically powerful community instead of Armenians.
Would everyone have remained so quiet?
Would county officials have shrugged?
Would elected officials, civil rights organizations and the media have treated it with the same indifference?
Would the story have simply disappeared?
We all know the response would have been very different.
Armenians deserved the same urgency.
We did not get it.
And where was Supervisor Kathryn Barger?
Armenian Americans repeatedly hear the same polished speeches about friendship, solidarity and the importance of our community, particularly when elected officials want Armenian votes.
Solidarity is not a proclamation.
It is not a photo op.
It is not another contrived speech about how much you “stand with” Armenians.
It is what you DO when there are no cameras around.
Where was Barger when sustained action was needed?
Silence.
And then came perhaps the clearest example of how LA County treats Armenians.
TAAL became an LA vs Hate partner through the LA County Commission on Human Relations.
We were finally at the table.
We did not sit there for appearances.
We WORKED.
TAAL developed some of the most innovative and inclusive initiatives within the partnership, programs that addressed anti-Armenian hate while also benefiting communities far beyond Armenians.
Then, after two years, TAAL was dropped as a partner.
No meaningful explanation.
Let that sink in.
One of the few Armenian organizations finally brought into LA County’s flagship anti-hate initiative was shown the door after two years.
Last guy in.
First guy out.
And Robin Toma, Executive Director of the LA County Commission on Human Relations?
Silent.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger?
Silent.
The LA County Board of Supervisors?
Silent.
So much for “standing with the Armenian community.”
From where we sit, the message could not have been clearer:
The Armenian box had been checked.
The quota had been met.
LA County could point to two years of Armenian “inclusion,” take the photographs, claim the optics of representation and move on.
Mission accomplished.
Except hate against Armenians did not move on.
And apparently neither did the institutional indifference toward it.
What makes this even more insulting is that TAAL was not some inactive name on a partner list.
We produced substantive, original work.
Our initiatives were innovative enough that LA vs Hate itself copied TAAL’s “Stand TAAL to Hate” celebrity PSA concept after TAAL was asked to delay launching ours.
TAAL brought value to LA vs Hate.
Yet when it came time to decide whose participation was expendable, somehow the Armenian organization became expendable.
That speaks volumes.
LA County loves the language of “equity,” “inclusion” and “representation.”
Fine.
Then answer this:
Why was an Armenian organization doing serious anti-hate work dropped without a meaningful explanation?
Why did Robin Toma remain silent?
Why did Kathryn Barger remain silent?
Why did the LA County Board of Supervisors remain silent?
And why was there no sustained institutional response when anti-Armenian hate had already manifested itself publicly in Glendale?
This is exactly why symbolic inclusion is worthless.
You cannot invite Armenians into an anti-hate program for two years, congratulate yourselves for being inclusive, remove the Armenian organization, remain silent and then express shock when anti-Armenian hate surfaces AGAIN.
Representation without institutional commitment is PR.
Nothing more.
TAAL sounded the alarm.
TAAL convened the officials.
TAAL asked the uncomfortable questions.
TAAL demanded prevention.
TAAL joined LA vs Hate.
TAAL did the work.
Then TAAL was dropped.
And the people with the power to object said nothing.
Three years after those original flyers, anti-Armenian hate material is being distributed in Glendale AGAIN, this time near an elementary school.
So yes:
WE TOLD YOU SO.
City of Glendale.
Dan Brotman.
Kathryn Barger.
Robin Toma.
LA County Commission on Human Relations.
LA County Board of Supervisors.
County of Los Angeles.
LA vs Hate.
Spare Armenians another statement.
Spare us another proclamation.
Spare us another photo op.
And spare us another speech about how much you value the Armenian community.
Answer the questions.
What did you actually DO after 2023?
Why was TAAL dropped?
Why did you remain silent?
And what are you going to do NOW that the hate we warned you about has returned?
Because Armenians are done being treated like second-class constituents.
And this time, you cannot say nobody warned you.
About Truth And Accountability League (TAAL)
Truth And Accountability League (TAAL) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to combating hate, defamation, disinformation, and the erasure of Armenian history and identity, while also advocating for other marginalized communities. Founded in 2020, TAAL has developed public education campaigns, anti-hate initiatives, community programs, and advocacy efforts addressing discrimination and misinformation.
Vic Gerami
Founder and Chair
Truth And Accountability League (TAAL)
