Huntington Beach City Council members are throwing out their recognition of many ethnic heritage celebrations and replacing them with what one state senator called a “whitewashed revisionist history” celebration schedule.
Council members are removing celebrations of Black History Month in February, Women’s History Month in March, and other similar celebrations going forward with officials writing the celebrations should be free of identity politics, according to the staff report.
“I’ve been amazed to learn just how much of our rich history I was unaware of,” said Councilman Casey McKeon from the dais on Tuesday night. “We wanted to focus on 12 themes a year instead of dozens to help city staff get on the same page.”
State Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) called the proposal “embarrassing and shameful,” in a statement Monday on X, the social media website formerly known as Twitter.
“This is a disgraceful departure from the ideals we should be championing and once again illustrates that this particular HB City Council is more interested in earning cheap headlines than actually addressing the issues affecting the lives of Surf City residents,” he wrote.
The council’s Republican majority backed the changes Tuesday night, while the Democratic minority voted against the move.
What Stays & What Goes?
The proposal will establish a new appointed panel to lay out a 12-month history program for the city.
Some of the potential themes include “the Revolutionary and Civil War” month in August and “Black Gold Jubilee – Honoring the Discovery of Oil” month in November.
“All monthly themes hosted by the City must be included in this approved twelve-month program and will therefore repeal and supersede all such monthly themes/celebrations previously approved by Council,” reads the staff report.
The council’s minority questioned why those celebrations were being thrown out, and wondered why this was a focus of the city council.
City Councilman Dan Kalmick said the proposal had nothing to do with public policy, called the calendar a “Eagle Scout project” and said it would effectively kill many celebrations geared towards minorities.
“We have deficits we’re going to need to address. We have a homeless issue that we still need to address. We have a lot of big issues and this is the number one thing we came out with?” Kalmick said, comparing it to his child’s fourth grade project.
“This is not something we should be doing.”
Councilwoman Rhonda Bolton also questioned why the city couldn’t include their past celebrations with the council’s new ones going forward.
“Why does it have to be either the proposed calendar or the existing commemorations?” Bolton asked. “The fact that those are being left out of this proposal says something. That sends a message to the community.”
McKeon and the Republican majority defended their proposal, saying it didn’t detract from their work on public policy and that events like Black History Month could always be reintroduced later on.
“I totally think you’re over complicating it,” McKeon said. “That doesn’t preclude it from happening next year.”
Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark called for a recognition of the Holocaust in January, but other months like Women’s History Month, Pride Month and Black History Month were ultimately left out of the 2024 calendar.
Councilman Tony Strickland called for a recognition of Juneteenth.
The move also didn’t pick up support from the city’s Historic Resources Board, which wasn’t consulted about the new process and won’t be the governing body deciding what history months move ahead.
Kathie Schey, the chair of the Historic Resources Board, resigned at Tuesday night’s meeting, saying the council’s decision was a “clear vote of no confidence.”
“I was thunderstruck when I received a copy of the current agenda,” Schey said during public comment. “God knows I’m all about celebrating history, but this is just peculiar.”
Previous Votes Raise Questions
This is not the first vote the council’s Republican majority has taken that has sparked local outrage on what role cities should play in celebrating local diversity.
The Huntington Beach City Council majority essentially banned flying the LGBTQ+ Pride Flag and a host of other flags on government property in February by restricting it to only city, state, national and prisoner of war banners.
The majority also voted earlier this year to disband the city’s Human Relations committee – aimed at combating hate crimes and incidents.
At a different meeting, they also voted to eliminate any mention of hate crimes in the Human Dignity policy.
[Read: HB City Council Majority Censures Natalie Moser; Removes Hate Crime Condemnation]
Tuesday’s decision comes months after a report by Groundswell – formerly known as the OC Human Relations Council – found an uptick in hate crimes and incidents across the county with the brunt of that being directed at the Black, Jewish and LGBTQ+ communities.
[Read: New Report Shows Hate Crimes and Incidents Continue Increasing in Orange County]
It also comes amid a national debate that is playing at local school districts on how U.S. and world history should be taught through ethnic studies courses.
Councilman Pat Burns pointed out that other more popular events, such as Women’s History Month and Pride Month, were already being celebrated elsewhere.
“It is being celebrated,” Burns said.
Kalmick interjected:
“Just not by Huntington Beach.”
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @NBiesiada.
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.
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