Women activists throughout the communities of LA and Orange County have strived at both the local and national levels to protect communities from unjust danger or harm, and achieve progress in the relationship between community members and law enforcement.
Genevieve Huizar is a grassroots activist from Anaheim. Her son, Manuel Diaz, was shot by police in Anaheim and as a result she decided to commit her life to creating change in the community. Building awareness about her son’s death and police use of force has made an impact on her local community. She speaks about changes she’d like to see in the police force, and shares a path for others to work to end police brutality. Her efforts include creating a dialogue with government entities in Anaheim, such as the city council and police department, and founding the Young Survivors Legacy Support group.
Huizar says complete justice is the most critical issue she’s fighting for in her activist efforts. To reduce police brutality and the use of force by law enforcement, she wants to see changes in the Officers’ Bill of Rights. She thinks the bill, created in 1974, is outdated and has been manipulated to protect the officers. In her opinion, the bill allows for excuses in most situations where an officer used excessive force to subdue a suspect, such as thinking the suspect was reaching for a weapon when they actually didn’t have any weapons on them.
An example of her efforts to create change was the organization of a march for justice, starting by the stairs of the state capitol building through the capitol. Following the march, she had an appointment with state assembly member Tom Daly to discuss the need for justice and changes to the Officers’ Bill of Rights. On the local level, Huizar attends city council meetings and voices her thoughts on the current officers in Anaheim, the need for improvements in training, and the hope to be able to have trust in local law enforcement.
Along with the mothers and families of other victims, Huizar started the Young Survivors’ Legacy Support Network. The goal of this network is to provide the children of police violence victims with support in their daily lives as well as in the future with scholarship opportunities. Huizar believes the efforts of the network can bring the families of the victims together to remember their loved ones, and to have a space to discuss their emotions and feelings about the incidents.
Works used:
- Center for Oral and Public History California State University Fullerton: An Oral History with Genevieve Huizar, interviewed by Carie Rael.
- Image 1- from Bear Guerra, KPCC.
- Image 2- from Allen J. Schaben, Los Angeles Times.
- Image 3- from Malaika Kambon, Bay View.
- Image 4/5/6- from the Young Survivors Legacy Support Network Facebook page.
Credits:
Created with an image by John Middelkoop - "Can I call this a Visual Juxtaposition? The title comes from a old NPR radio program called “Which Way LA”. I can can still recall the host’s special FM style voice. I love this building for its simplicity. Mount a bunch of landing lights to the side of the building and call it Architecture. Visually interesting, I shot the heck out of it.. From my iBook “Urbane, The Crossroads of Urban and Banal.” For more info see https://koopfilms.org/urbane/"