President Clinton
announced a hate crime conference to be held in early November in Washington D.C. Although the conference is not directly tied to the President's Initiative on Race it is part of the President's effort to focus on
finding ways to improve intergroup relations. According to White House staff, approximately 250 people will be invited to participate in the sessions. Participants will be divided among seven or eight
workshops consisting of 30 participants or less. Each workshop will be given the task of considering specific national initiatives and making recommendations.
The President is expected to use the occasion to
announce new federal initiatives to be launched by the Justice Department to address hate crimes. The President is also being lobbied by civil rights advocacy groups in Washington to support legislation to expand
the jurisdiction of federal agencies over hate crimes and to broaden the definition to include gender, and sexual orientation.
The Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, seeking to
capitalize on the attention focused on hate crimes will be sponsoring a local "Hate Crime Summit" to address its impact locally. CAHRO is currently discussing the feasibility of encouraging additional communities
to follow the lead offered by Los Angeles with White House staff.
