Ahead of white supremacist meeting Saturday, dozens gather in Fresno to ‘Stop The Hate’

Laura S. Diaz

Fresno County residents gathered for the second edition of the “Stop The Hate” town halls organized by Community Alliance on Wednesday night. Organizers said they wanted the event to unite the community to stop and eradicate hate in the Fresno metropolitan area.

“Unfortunately, the timing of this event is very appropriate given all the things that are happening here in the beautiful state of California and even here locally,” said Dr. Daren Miller, longtime Fresno educator and one of Community Alliance’s editorial and nonprofit board members.

A Texas-based Aryan group announced that it has scheduled a meeting somewhere in Fresno on Saturday, Jan. 28. The time and location are undisclosed to the public and will only be provided upon request and with a $25 fee to cover the costs of a mandatory background check.

Though planned months in advance, the town hall also fell just days after mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay.

More than 80 people attended the program, including federal, state, and local officials, Fresno County residents, and a few Fresno Police Department officers.

Presenters shared with attendees their expertise on what constitutes a hate crime, how to report them, and resources community members can access at the federal, state, and local levels.

Local attorney Patience Milrod is seen speaking at the Stop The Hate Town Hall held at Central East High School campus Wednesday night, Jan. 25, 2023 in Fresno. Organized by Community Alliance newspaper, the town hall was the second of three planned events designed to address the growing problem of hate crimes.
Local attorney Patience Milrod is seen speaking at the Stop The Hate Town Hall held at Central East High School campus Wednesday night, Jan. 25, 2023 in Fresno. Organized by Community Alliance newspaper, the town hall was the second of three planned events designed to address the growing problem of hate crimes.

Local attorney Patience Milrod discussed moments when Fresno’s multiple communities gathered to support each other, such as the protests outside the Tower Theatre when Adventure Church preached “hatred.”

She encouraged the crowd to ask representatives to uphold and advocate the community values they’d like their city, county, and state as she spoke of Fresno’s diversity and showed a photo of the Pride flag waving at Fresno City Hall.

“We believe love is love,” she said as emotion took over, “that is a big freaking deal.”

Sukaina Hussain, deputy executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, spoke about CAIR’s work in Fresno, hateful discrimination the Islamic community experiences, and hatred in general.

“Hateful rhetoric results in more hate crimes on an interpersonal level,” Hussain said moments before a question-and-answer panel with community leaders started.

Though the panel didn’t address the white supremacist gathering scheduled this weekend directly, Miller did recognize it towards the end of the two-hour town hall.

“I welcome a conversation with the Aryan Nation, who is having a “meet and greet” on Saturday,” he said during his closing remarks. The crowd went silent. Miller said he thinks that by talking with them, maybe both sides could find commonalities between people and reduce hatred.

“That’s how bold I am and how committed to stopping the hate,” Miller said. “I know that will leave a bad taste in some peoples’ mouths, but somebody has to have these conversations and do the heavy lifting.”

Sukaina Hussain from CAIR California, right, addresses the crowd with Dr. Darren Miller seen in the background at the Stop The Hate Town Hall held at Central East High School campus Wednesday night, Jan. 25, 2023 in Fresno. Organized by Community Alliance newspaper, the town hall is the second of three planned events designed to address the growing problem of hate crimes.

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How to get involved in future town halls

Community Alliance’s four-part town halls were made possible through a Stop The Hate Program grant the San Joaquin Valley Media Alliance received from the California Department of Social Services. The first edition of the “Stop The Hate” town halls was hosted last November in Huron.

Organizers plan to host the third one in Madera sometime around March, and the fourth somewhere towards the eastern side of Fresno County later this year.

Miller invited the community to attend the next two town halls, wanting to continue the collective collaboration - and heartfelt support - among county residents.

“Hate comes in different forms,” Miller said. “But it all needs to go away.”

Those wishing to participate or attend will be able to find details in Community Alliance’s website, fresnoalliance.com, or on their social media platforms.

If someone you know, or you, have been the victim of a hate crime, or want to learn more about how to prevent and report a hate crime, you can find more information at:

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