LA vs Hate Partners with the Long Beach LGBT Center to Reveal New Anti-Hate Mural Celebrating the LGBTQ+ Community

Los Angeles – August 5, 2023 – A new mural was unveiled at Bixby Park in Long Beach celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, presented by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations’ initiative LA vs Hate’s Summer of Solidarity, in partnership with The LGBTQ Center of Long Beach. The mural, titled “Long Beach Embrace,” evokes a tableau of people, movements and issues of significance to the LGBTQ+ and greater community, and will be revealed as part of the Long Beach Pride celebration. The mural was designed by Myisha Arellano, a queer, migrant artist born in Mexico City and raised in LA County. Additional supporting partners include Long Beach Human Dignity Program, Vice Mayor Cindy Allen’s Office, Long Beach Parks & Recreation and The Museum of Latin American Art.

The mural comes at a time where reported hate crime events against the LGBTQ+ community increased across California, rising 29% from 303 in 2021 to 391 in 2022. Recent violent clashes in LA County, including brawls at a Glendale school board meeting and a North Hollywood school, underscore a need to come together and show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. New data from the Long Beach Police Department shows the number of hate crimes has risen since 2022, and this year’s total has already surpassed last year’s. Out of 39 hate crime incidents reported in Long Beach the past two and a half years, the most targeted group was the LGBTQ+ community. The purpose behind the mural’s creation and the unveiling celebration is to bring diverse people together through the unifying power of art.

The mural unveiling and dedication ceremony featured speeches from Jack Cunningham, District Deputy to US Congressman Robert Garcia, LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn’s legislative deputy Nick Holden, Executive Director of the LA County Commission on Human Relations Robin Toma, Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, Long Beach Vice Mayor Cindy Allen, City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services leader, The LGBTQ Center of Long Beach Interim Executive Director Ellie Perez, as well as Frankie Aguirre, a victim of hate. The speakers reflected on the significance of the LGBTQ+ community in Los Angeles as well as art’s ability to transcend division and conflict by highlighting our shared humanity and values. The event also included performances by renowned Long Beach drag performers Sabreena and Envi, a pop-up queer book fair by the Rainbow Book Bus, family-friendly activities, and food.

The mural is part of LA vs Hate: Summer of Solidarity, a summer-long celebration of the County’s cultural and community diversity and our unity against prejudice, discrimination and bigotry. The series of events includes monthly art-led and community-centered events in each of the county’s five supervisorial districts. Through partnerships with community-based organizations, the festivities will uplift and celebrate cultural moments and traditions – all to showcase that unity is stronger than hate. The Summer of Solidarity also seeks to remind residents of the County’s hate reporting system, where anyone can report an act of hate and receive free and confidential support by calling 2-1-1, or by filing a report online at www.LAvsHate.org.

“Pride is a time for celebration, reflection and solidarity, and that is what this mural honoring the LGBTQ+ community here in Long Beach is all about,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “Myisha Arrellano and the community have created a vibrant, powerful mural for people of all walks of life to enjoy for years to come.”

“LA vs Hate recognizes that art possesses a rich, extensive past as an instrument for connection, healing, and unity among people,” said Robin Toma, Executive Director of the LA County Commission on Human Relations. “This mural was created by the community, sending a message that Long Beach and all of LA County holds no space for hate, and that the LGBTQ+ community is celebrated, loved, and welcome here.”

“Being a local partner for The Summer of Solidarity campaign has been a unique privilege because it has allowed me to show the LGBTQ+ residents of the City of Long Beach just how integral they are to the culture of this city,” said Cindy Allen, Long Beach Vice Mayor. “‘Long Beach Embrace’ will be the first new addition to LGBTQ+ Cultural District since the visioning process began last year. There is no room for hate in Long Beach or anywhere in Los Angeles County, and this mural will reflect that in Bixby Park for years to come.”

“The LGBTQ Center Long Beach is proud to partner with LA vs Hate on this mural,” said Ellie Perez, Interim Executive Director of the LGBTQ Center Long Beach. “It has been uplifting and inspiring to be part of such a wonderful collective of individuals coming together to envision a mural that celebrates our LGBTQ+ community’s history and future.”

“The mural presents two large figures forming an embrace at a distance, reflecting the community connection and support for one another,” explained muralist Myisha Arrellano. “This embrace, a universally recognized symbol of care and affection, allows the viewer to immediately understand the larger implications of the work. The figures create vignettes of symbolic stories based on community anecdotes and values that represent care, solidarity, and showing up for one another. The mural includes depictions of people marching and celebrating together, as well as historic landmarks, movements and resources for the LGBTQ+ community in Long Beach.”

As the LA vs Hate: Summer of Solidarity continues, new murals will be commissioned and revealed, celebrating different communities and cultures across the County through partnering with community organizations. LA vs Hate will reveal a new mural that celebrates LA County’s Indigenous and Native communities on Saturday, September 9 at the Grace Resource Center in Lancaster. In the weeks to come, two additional murals will be revealed, honoring the Latine and Black communities.