LOS ANGELES, CA (MPG) - The rise in hate crimes has impacted communities throughout the United States creating mistrust and anger from targeted groups. The tie between these crimes and the Covid pandemic is a clear one, with economic peril resulting in even more of a divide between various ethnic groups.

“We have all expressed horror at what is going on––which has become almost a daily occurrence in this country,” stated Bob Huff, former minority leader of the California Senate and the sponsor of multiple pieces of legislation in support of underrepresented communities.

“It is time that we pull together our enormous resources and talent to start identifying solutions. Talk without action is not advancing change and change is desperately needed,” Huff said.

Senator Huff and his wife, Mei Mei Ho Huff, consultants in government affairs, community/media relations, and business development, have established a new initiative called the ACT Against Hate Alliance (AAHA) to identify the roots of hate crimes and then to identify solutions. In 2022-2023, AAHA will provide innovative programming that brings key stakeholders together to discuss the most pressing issues surrounding hate crime and each aspect of the program to focus on solutions. During his time in California government, Bob Huff was known as a coalition builder whose expertise enabled him to get many important pieces of key legislation passed.

“We committed to taking new action when members of our Asian community reached out to us to ask for help, commenting on the increase in hate crimes–often violent–against Asians in our community and across the nation,” said Mei Mei Huff, a well-known leader in California’s Asian community for over two decades.

“We see these same problems targeting other groups,” said Mei Mei Huff, “and we cannot stand by and relegate the responsibility to someone else hoping they will find solutions. We have the experience and the commitment, and with AAHA, we are focused on finding the solutions we so desperately need.”

The inaugural program for ACT Against Hate Alliance was held at the California State Capitol on August 17, 2022, with government leaders speaking on the importance of this new initiative in bringing together leaders from all sectors around a solutions-focused agenda.

Other AAHA programs and events throughout the year will be a mix of remote and in-person activities. All programs will be open to members of government, NGOs, media, academic institutions, and community organizations, as well as to members of the public.

Seed funding for media programming is provided by a grant from the California State Library.

For more information contact: Bill Bird, Communications Director, at [email protected]