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GSEP Hosts Panel Discussion on Ethnic Violence with Los Angeles Community  

GSEP Hosts Panel Discussion on Ethnic Violence with Los Angeles Community

The Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) at Pepperdine University will host a discussion for the Los Angeles community on Tuesday, May 13, with a panel of African American and Latino professionals, parents, and high school students. The group seeks to further understand issues of race and generate strategies toward resolving the underlying tensions that exist between African Americans and Latinos in Los Angeles.

The discussion, sponsored by the GSEP Diversity Council, will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. in room 333 of the Pepperdine graduate campus in West Los Angeles. The event is free and open to the public.

The arrest of four South Los Angeles high school students involved in a fight between African American and Latino students on Friday, May 9, is the latest in a continuing string of ethnic violence between the two groups. While most individuals have a cursory level understanding of the racial tensions that exists between African Americans and Latinos, there is little discussion regarding the challenges and struggles between these two cultural groups. More specifically, the growing tensions that deepen between African Americans and Latinos in California are at an all-time high and need to be addressed as an avenue towards the identification of collaborative solutions.

The panelists include Tony Collatos, assistant professor of education at GSEP; Donald E. Grant, Jr., site coordinator for a Homeless Families CalWORKS Families projects; Mary Johnson, chair of the Los Angeles Unified School District Parent Collaborative; Valerie Munoz, Lynwood parent representative; Rogelio Serrano, a licensed marriage and family therapist; Francisco Torreo, Los Angeles parent representative; and students from Gertz-Ressler High School and South Gate High School - both within the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The West Los Angeles Graduate Campus is located at 6100 Center Drive. To learn more or RSVP to the event, please contact Vanessa Jahn at (310) 568-2344 or visit the Diversity Council Web site.