Community members and elected leaders from the district, county, and state gathered at El Marino Language School in Culver City on Thursday for a press conference about a hate incident that occurred on the elementary school campus. 

Two weeks ago, officials found anti-Black and homophobic graffiti defacing the school along with a broken window. A pair of minors suspected of the crimes were arrested by the Culver City Police Department and released to their parents last week. The district said the youths were not CCUSD students. 

The coalition of Culver City Unified School District (CCUSD) and the L.A. v. Hate campaign focused on the reparative and preventative actions that the community can take to confront hateful rhetoric and behaviors. 

Culver City Unified Board Vice President Triston Ezidore and Robin Toma, the Executive Director of the L.A. County Commission on Human Relations led the conference. 

“Hate has no place in our schools,” Ezidore told the crowd. The diverse array of community members who gathered to show their support was proof of that, he said. 

Robin Toma spoke of the work L.A. County was engaged in to support victims of hate crimes. “This isn’t an isolated incident,” he said. “We haven’t seen a decline in hate crimes in many years.” But hate crime data, which is typically collected and tallied by police agencies, doesn’t tell the whole story. Toma detailed the difficulty victims face when trying to report to police, saying the county was working to provide more direct support for people struggling to be heard.

“Unless you show that you care about victims of hate, why should they care about reporting?” He said. 

Victims or witnesses of hate crimes and incidents can make a report online or by calling the 211 hotline. 

Toma thanked the community for rallying around the incident and standing together. 

California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and L.A. County Office of Education Superintendent Debra Duardo also spoke. 

Thurmond, who has announced a 2026 run for the governorship, voiced his support for the district and for all marginalized groups currently facing repressive forces in education. He signaled his support for ethnic studies and denounced the forced outing of LGBTQ+ students – two issues threatening public education across the country. 

“I want to give props to this district for being so courageous and saying ‘Let’s talk about it,’” Thurmond said. Because no students or staff were exposed to the hate speech, Thurmond said the district could have easily let the incident go without much conversation.

But as Nancy Barba, CCUSD parent and candidate for the city council, said later, these moments provide an opportunity to have difficult conversations out in the open. 

Westside Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell also spoke about the need to state plainly and directly what the harms of racism, homophobia, and other oppressive ideologies and systems are and how to effectively confront them wherever they surface. 

“It’s important that I’m standing on a school campus because I am crystal clear that hate is a learned behavior,” Mitchell said. “Learning starts in the community and at home.” 

She also spoke about the community’s shared responsibility to “Confront and acknowledge white supremacist ideology.” L.A. vs. Hate provides bystander intervention training and has resources for schools on how to combat hate-motivated behaviors. 

Culver City Councilmember Freddy Puza talked about his experience as the first openly LGBTQ+ councilmember for the city and growing up in a world with fewer protections and less acceptance. 

“Seeing and hearing about the recent homophobic and racist incidents that happened on campus brings back that pain, fear, and isolation. I know that many people, especially our youth, still feel that today even with all the progress that’s been made,” Puza said.

The crowd of community members stood on the blacktop of El Marino in front of Keith Haring-style murals that read “Everyone is safe.” L.A. vs. Hate “Communidad” posters melded with signs from CCUSD: “Words can heal and words can destroy. Choose wisely.”

Photo of Supervisor Mitchell by our own Christian May-Suzuki.