LA County and Local Leaders Attended
The 4th Annual Pomona Valley Pride Gayla to
Acknowledge Past and Present Achievements
in the LGBTQ+ Community
Keynote Speaker Dr. Monica Lomeli from LA County’s Commission on Human Relations Delivered a Vibrant Message to Guests and Attendees in Pomona.
 Dr. Monica Lomeli delivered the keynote address to special guests and attendees at the 4th Annual Pomona Valley Pride Gayla at the Sheraton Fairplex Suites & Conference Center in Pomona on Saturday, October 5, 2024.
POMONA, CALIFORNIA ─ October 7, 2024 ─ The 4th Annual Pomona Valley Pride Gayla, "PRIDE 365: Honoring our Past, Present, and Future," was held in the California Ballroom of the Sheraton Fairplex Suites & Conference Center in Pomona, California on Saturday, October 5, 2024, proved a wonderful and exciting event for guests as they experienced the acrobatic performance of human feats of balance, agility, motor coordination, and art by The Stage Global. The mission of The Stage Global is to bring the cirque arts industry into the future by promoting intelligent movement training and offering a safe space for creative expression while building an inclusive LGBTQ+ community for performers and performance talent at large.
“We find the performance art represented by The Stage Global is representative of the type of strength, commitment, perseverance, agility, self-discipline, and self-expression required by the LGBTQIA+ community as we move forward successfully in 2025,” stated Frank Guzman, CEO & Executive Director, Pomona Valley Pride.
Later, the evening's flow continued with a warm welcome from Frank Guzman, CEO and Executive Director of Pomona Valley Pride, followed by a keynote address by Dr. Monica Lomeli, Manager of the Hate Documentation and Analytics team for LA County’s Commission on Human Relations.
 From left, Roberto Munoz, Chair, Board of Directors Pomona Valley, Dr. Monica Lomeli, LA County Commission on Human Relations, and Frank Guzman, CEO & Executive Director, Pomona Valley Pride at the 4th Annual Pomona Valley Pride Gayla on Saturday evening, October 5, 2024.
Dr. Monica Lomeli delivered her address to a welcoming crowd. She discussed the problems the LGBTQ+ community has experienced in the past and faces in the present and the solutions, actions, and resources available to meet those challenges.
She spoke about how her work reunited her with a decades-old fellow intern named Francisco. During their internship, Dr. Lomeli described Francisco as a shy individual who did not want to attract much attention. However, when Francisco saw Dr. Lomeli on NBC News this past summer speaking at an LGBTQ+ Anti-Hate Forum in San Fernando Valley, he reached out to her. Francisco told her how much it meant to see her speaking up for the LGBTQ+ community. “Thank you for being an ally,” he said.
As head of LA County’s Hate Documentation Team, Dr. Lomeli manages the County's annual Hate Crime Report. In recent years, the team has seen a rise in hate crime reporting throughout LA County. In 2022, sexual orientation crimes comprised the second largest motivation and grew by 20%. The great majority or 81% of sexual orientation crimes targeted gay men. There were 44 anti-transgender crimes, the largest number ever documented in LA County, and 91% of the anti-transgender crimes were violent.
"Since 1980, our annual Hate Crime Report has documented hate across and at the intersection of various identities in our County. Our report is one of the oldest and long-standing efforts in the nation to document hate. Our data is used by County Board Supervisors to funnel resources and tax dollars to programs and efforts that combat hate in the most afflicted communities. And this is why we need organizations like Pomona Valley Pride to provide the services and programs that open doors and dark and lonely closets to help youth embrace who they are,” said Dr. Lomeli.
“Trusting someone with your story can be a very difficult thing to do, especially for a victim of hate belonging to a marginalized community like the LGBTQ+ community. Reporting hate is important to represent its impact on a community fairly, but not everyone is comfortable reporting it to law enforcement. This is why we want the public to know that they can report hate to LAvsHate.org or dial 211 so victims can get help from a community-based organization,” Dr. Lomeli added.
LA vs Hate is a well-known anti-hate program and system led by the Commission on Human Relations and available to residents throughout LA County. The goal of the LA vs. Hate system is to address the normalization of hate and inspire people to stand up to it, build an understanding of what constitutes a hate act and how to report it, and support individuals and communities with free services and counseling as they heal from the trauma of hate.
Among the honorees who were recognized at the 4th Annual Pomona Valley Pride Gayla by Frank Guzman, CEO & Executive Director, Pomona Valley Pride, and Roberto Munoz, Board Chairperson, Pomona Valley Pride, include Hector Silva, world-renowned artist and queer advocate, Ami Davis, human rights advocate and published author who advocates for student rights and empowerment, and Our Schools USA (Inland Val-ley Chapter), an organization that has lead the efforts and advocacy for the recent passage of the Safety Act (AB1955). Governor Gavin Newsom signed the legislation into law due to Our Schools USA’s tireless efforts. The Safety Act would, in addition to preventing forced disclosure of LGBTQ+ identity, provide information for parents and education personnel on acceptance and the creation of safe spaces for LGBTQ+ students.
About the LA County Commission on Human Relations
The Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations is dedicated to catalyzing human rights for all by promoting positive human relations in our richly diverse, multicultural county throughout all five Supervisorial Districts. The Commission works to develop programs that proactively address racism, homophobia, religious prejudice, linguistic bias, anti-immigrant sentiment, and other divisive attitudes that can lead to intercultural tension, hate crimes, and related violence.
For more information about LA County’s Commission on Human Relations, click here.
About LA vs Hate
LA vs Hate is a community-centered system designed to support all residents of Los Angeles County. Led by the Human Relations Commission, LA vs Hate partners with community partners from all five County districts, representing a diverse coalition of voices committed to ending hate. The system aims to address the normalization of hate and inspire people to stand up to it, build understanding about what constitutes a hate act and how to report it, as well as support individuals and communities as they heal from the trauma of hate and work to end systemic discrimination. By tracking and reporting hate, we can ensure that resources are allocated appropriately, that those targeted by hate receive the support they need, and that together, we can build respectful and resilient communities in solidarity with one another.
For more information about LA vs Hate, click here.
About Pomona Valley Pride
Pomona Valley Pride, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2019, is committed to its mission of empowering, enhancing, advancing, and sustaining the well-being of people's lives through vital social, emotional, educational, arts, scholarship, and advocacy programs. Pomona Valley Pride advocates and fights for LGBTQIA+ rights, human rights, and women's rights worldwide.
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