CAIR-LA rep participates in community dialogue about race relations after the verdict in the George Zimmerman case.
(Jul 23, 2013 – Anaheim, CA)
CAIR-LA Public Affairs Coordinator Haroon Manjlai attended a town hall meeting hosted by the NAACP-OC on race in the Trayvon Martin aftermath.
During the event, Manjlai spoke about how the diversity of race and faith was the most striking feature he noticed upon moving to the United States with his family at the age of 12. He shared his personal experience of studying those faith traditions, other than Islam, and how that translated into better appreciation of people of other faiths, and diversity in general.
“It is in our best interest to get to know people whom we know little about,” he told the crowd of nearly 200. “It is essential to form friendships and alliances with them, which will subsequently strengthen our communities.”
Organized by the Orange County Chapter of the NAACP, the meeting was attended by people of all races, genders and creeds, many with strong opinions about the Florida case and how the nation should move forward in addressing race relations.
The meeting followed numerous nationwide protests regarding the Zimmerman verdict, including a July 16 candlelight vigil for Trayvon Martin in Santa Ana and a July 21 march in Anaheim.
“We can’t do anything about what’s already happened,” said Donald Craig, president of Orange County’s NAACP branch. “But we need to look ahead to some of the laws in this country.”
Following short speeches by a panel of ministers, political leaders and members of the county’s legal community, those in the audience were encouraged to share their opinions and thoughts.
Of the more than one dozen people who spoke, some shared personal experiences of being racially profiled and some offered solutions.
“We need to get back to making a difference like the generation before us,” said AJ Sanders, a 45-year-old Laguna Beach woman.
Sanders said she was offended after she said her neighbors put up “Keep Out’’ signs between their homes once they noticed she was black.
“Let’s stop being afraid of one another and instead talk to each other,” she said.
A Florida jury on July 13 acquitted Zimmerman of charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of Martin, an unarmed black teenager, in a case that ignited national debates over self-defense and race.