San Diego, CA - Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) activists from San Diego County joined Assembly Western Region Director, Yeghig Keshishian, for a district meeting with California State Senator Mark Wyland (R). During the meeting, Keshishian thanked Senator Wyland for authoring SB 234, the "Genocide Awareness Act," and reiterated the Assembly's support for this important human rights legislation. Assembly member and San Diego activist, Lisa Kradjian, played an important role in leading the local outreach efforts throughout San Diego County. Kradjian was contacted personally by Wyland's office to assist the Senator in shoring-up grassroots support. "I am happy to see that the Armenian-American community's efforts in moving this bill forward proved successful," Kradjian stated. "I commend Senator Wyland for his leadership. The Armenian-American community stands by Senator Mark Wyland, as he continues to carry the torch in advocating for discussion
of human rights abuses and genocide in California classrooms." Having first passed the California State Senate, SB 234 was then introduced in the State Assembly, where the Education Committee voted unanimously in favor of it in July. It now stands to be heard in the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee. The bill calls upon the California Curriculum Commission to include an oral history component related to genocides as part of its high school curriculum, including the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. California pioneered new education standards by adopting the Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide, which includes the Armenian Genocide. Since the Assembly first reported this story in April, Armenian-Americans throughout the state of California have taken action, sending letters and making phone calls to key offices on the Appropriations and Education Committee to garner additional support. |
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