LOS ANGELES (CNS) – To mark International Friendship Day, the city of Los Angeles Wednesday celebrated its “Just Say Hello” campaign, the latest phase of its anti-hate LA For All initiative, promoting compassion and connection between Angelenos.
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Civil Rights Department led a news conference at City Hall to discuss the campaign alongside city officials and community leaders. The event featured multilingual visuals, cultural performances and music by DJ Puffs.
“In the face of rising hate and fear — especially in immigrant communities — `Just Say Hello’ is about choosing connection over division,” Capri Maddox, executive director of the LA Civil Rights Department, said in a statement. “We’re reminding Angelenos that a simple greeting can be a powerful first step to healing, safety, and understanding throughout our communities.”
The campaign was designed in the following 11 languages: Russian, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Croatian, Italian, Japanese, Thai, Cambodian, Vietnamese and English.
City departments such as LA Sanitation and Environment, StreetsLA, Parks and Recreation, Public Library, the Port of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles World Airports joined the campaign to help amplify its message in their daily operations and outreach.
Award-winning designer Masaki Koike of Phyx Design helped the department develop the campaign. Visuals will appear on transit shelters, sanitation trucks, social media and city facilities through Los Angeles.
Campaign posters and other visuals are live on 80 digital bus shelters and throughout LAX terminals. LA sanitation vehicles rolled out with messages from the campaign from all six yards Wednesday.
In the near future, campaign visuals will be visible on lamp posts in a few neighborhoods, officials said.
Residents and visitors are encouraged to share selfies and stories using the #JustSayHelloLA tag to show how a simple hello can build bridges and break barriers between strangers, regardless of race, ethnicity, language, faith or country of origin.
City Councilman Tim McOsker and Hugo Soto-Martinez participated in the event, and thanked the department for creating the campaign. They agreed the initiative will serve to bolster connection between residents throughout the city, as well as with the immigrant community.
“In moments like these, when fear and national division threaten to pull us apart, we must double down on what makes our communities strong: connection, compassion, and unity,” McOsker said in a statement. “We need to continue lifting each other up, standing together and supporting our communities by looking out for one another.”
Soto-Martinez added, “When a federal government motivated by hate tries to terrorize our neighbors, we answer with solidarity and love for our community.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies have conducted operations to crack down on illegal immigration in the Los Angeles region since June 6. The federal government has emphasized that its enforcement activities are lawful.
In 2021, the city’s Civil Rights Department launched its award-winning LA For All initiative in response to an alarming rise in hate crimes. In September, the city will celebrate LA For All by lighting landmarks such as Dodger Stadium and the LAX pylons in the campaign’s colors.
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