Center for the Prevention of Hate and Bullying

On Wednesday, Nov. 3, CAIR-LA, along with California Attorney General Rob Bonta and several leaders within the Muslim community, hosted a community meeting and press conference to announce the launch of the Center for the Prevention of Hate and Bullying (CPHB). CPHB will focus on implementing strategies that proactively address incidents of hate that target African, Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI), Black, immigrant, Middle Eastern, and other Muslim communities within the Greater Los Angeles region.

The center will initially focus on addressing issues that arise when incidents of hate occur in public, K–12 schools, college campuses, and mosques. It will also focus on addressing systemic issues that arise when reporting or advocating on issues of hate with law enforcement, prosecutors, and lawmakers.

CPHB will utilize a comprehensive, five-prong TAPED approach to systemically addressing issues of hate by focusing on:

Training: Developing training for school districts, colleges, law enforcement, lawmakers, and other institutions that respond to incidents of hate.
Advocacy: Advocating for local and state legislation and funding to better address and resource communities and individuals impacted by hate.
Partnership: Investing additional capacity and resources in developing strategic partnerships with nonprofits, government entities, foundations, and academics to reach intersectional and collaborative solutions to preventing hate.
Education: Furthering education and outreach to impacted communities on how to report, address, and heal from incidents of hate.
Data: Analyzing and developing data that can inform our training, advocacy, and partnerships on the types of hate and their impact on the communities we represent.

“Dismantling systemic hate requires intentionality and intersectional collaboration,” said Masih Fouladi, Interim Director for the CPHB. “The Muslim community is comprised of the Asian-American/Pacific-Islander, Black, Middle Eastern and North African, and other communities that are most vulnerable to hate. The center will allow us to strategically expand our efforts from legal, policy, organizing, and media perspective in partnership with other NGOs and government institutions. The center’s launch with Attorney General Bonta was a strong step in that direction.”