Back to Back Victories...Artsakh, Genocide Education and so much more

Back to Back Victories…Artsakh, Genocide Education and so much more

August 29, 2014

Armenian National Committee of America | Western Region

August 29, 2014

We did it…again and again, and again, and again!

Our accomplishments this past week have been absolutely incredible and we cannot thank our grassroots and our elected leaders enough for making it all possible.

Yesterday was a day of Victory for Artsakh. The State of California, representing over 38 million people and the California State Senate, led by incoming Senate President Pro Tem Kevin De Leon, passed Assembly Member Mike Gatto’s AJR32 resolution recognizing the Independence of Artsakh by a unanimous 24-0 vote. This resolution encourages Artsakh’s continuing efforts to develop as a free and independent nation and formally calls upon the President and Congress of the United States to do the same. Read full story here.

On Tuesday, the California Senate with a vote of 36-0, passed the Armenian Genocide Education Act (AB 1915). This bill adds Armenian Genocide survivor and witness oral testimonies into the teachings of human rights in California public schools. It encourages professional development activities and resource development for teachers to teach about the Genocide. Authored by Assembly member Adrin Nazarian, AB 1915 builds upon the first legislation passed in 1985, AB 1273, which incorporated the Armenian Genocide in the Social Studies Curriculum. Read full story here.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the California State Assembly and the California State Senate respectfully passed CA Senator Mark Wyland’s bill, SB 1380, which promotes the inclusion of the Armenian Genocide and oral histories in the social studies curriculum. Both AB 1915 and SB 1380 will now be sent to the Governor’s desk for enactment.

Finally, on Wednesday, August 20th, the Los Angeles Community Colleges District Board of Trustees unanimously adopted a resolution designating the month of April 2015 as “LACCD Month of Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915,” which will affect all 9 college campuses in the district. The very strongly worded resolution also incorporates Armenian Genocide education and awareness as part of the district’s teachings and campus activities. It also calls on the President of the United States to work toward equitable, constructive, stable and durable Armenian-Turkish relations. Read full story here.

The road to these victories was not easy.

It took over 15,000 supporters and activists like YOU who responded in days’ time to our action alerts and made our collective voice heard to elected officials.

It took our board, staff, committee members, local chapters, interns, volunteers and network of organizations working around the clock and meeting with officials to educate them on the issues.

It took having close friends in positions of leadership who believe in truth and justice to stand strong on our issues despite consistent, heavy pressure from the Turkish and Azeri lobbies.

It took all of us.

But, our work is not done.

As we look ahead and continue to fight the good fight and expand on what we accomplished this week and in the months leading up to today, we need you now more than ever.

We know the Turkish and Azeri lobbies will be dumping millions of dollars in their war chests to fight us off.

So as you head out of town to enjoy your Labor Day weekend, please take one minute, to do one more thing for the Armenian Cause.

Please donate $10, 25, $50, $100, $500, $1,000 or whatever you can afford to the ANCA WR so we can continue to deliver the results that make you so proud.

On behalf of all us here at ANCA WR, THANK YOU – to each and every person and organization that contributed – whether you helped organize your local community, sent letters and made calls to your officials, shared our posts on social media or contributed financially.

We couldn’t have done it without you.

In Common Cause,

Elen Asatryan, Executive Director

PS – Please feel free to contact me directly at elen@ancawr.org with any concerns or any suggestions on how we can better serve the needs of our community.

– If you would prefer to donate by check, please send your donation to the address listed belo