Armenian Americans Are Tired of Being Treated Like Second-Class Constituents

As TAAL’s Founder and Chair, I moderated the discussion and directly asked what Glendale was doing to educate the public, address anti-Armenian hate and prevent another incident.

This was not an abstract policy discussion. Armenians had already been targeted. The question was simple: what are you going to do so this does not happen again?

During that exchange, Brotman referred to Armenians as a “niche” and spoke of Armenians “clawing” their way upward.

The language was stunning in Glendale, where Armenians are the city’s largest ethnic group, even larger than the city’s white population.

But the larger problem was not one remark. It was what followed.

Very little.

The Armenian Community Gets Lip Service

Armenian Americans are accustomed to being praised by politicians. We hear how important the community is. We hear about friendship with Armenia. We hear elected officials speak at commemorations, banquets and cultural events. We hear the word “solidarity” repeatedly.

But solidarity is not a proclamation, a photograph or a speech delivered when Armenian voters are in the room. Solidarity is what government does when sustained work is required, when there are no cameras around and when there is no immediate political reward.

That is where Armenian Americans too often encounter silence.

The experience of TAAL is a striking example. TAAL was already an LA vs Hate partner through the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations when the 2023 anti-Armenian hate incidents occurred. That should have represented progress.

TAAL is the only Armenian-American organization specifically focused on anti-Armenian hate, discrimination, defamation, disinformation, historical erasure, public education, prevention and cross-community engagement. Los Angeles County recognized that distinction when it brought TAAL into its flagship anti-hate initiative. TAAL did not simply lend its name to the program: it developed campaigns and initiatives intended not only to address anti-Armenian hate, but also to benefit other marginalized communities. In fact, TAAL’s work was innovative enough that LA vs Hate later adopted a concept substantially similar to one of the initiatives TAAL had developed.

Then, after two years, TAAL was dropped as a partner. No meaningful explanation was provided at the time.

I sent close to ten emails, left telephone messages and ultimately texted Robin Toma directly seeking an explanation. I also repeatedly reached out to Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office. Those efforts went unanswered.

Only after TAAL issued its August 28 statement, amid the latest anti-Armenian hate incident, did Toma finally offer an explanation. In an email to me that day, he pointed to serious County budget shortfalls, cuts to the Commission’s budget and the loss of nearly a quarter of its staff.

But that explanation does not withstand scrutiny. It was never communicated to TAAL when it was dropped, not after my emails, my calls, or my direct text. And organizations representing other ethnic, racial, religious and marginalized communities remained represented within LA vs Hate. TAAL, the Armenian-American organization specifically engaged in this kind of anti-hate work, was the one that was dropped.

If budget and staffing cuts were truly the reason, why was Armenian representation the one considered expendable while organizations representing other communities stayed?

What criteria determined that TAAL should be dropped while those organizations remained?

That is not a rhetorical question. The Armenian community deserves an answer, one that matters all the more because Toma leads the County Commission on Human Relations, while Barger represents a district with a substantial Armenian-American population and significant influence over County priorities and funding.

The message Armenian Americans receive from experiences like this is difficult to ignore: We will invite you in. We will photograph you. We will call it representation. And when your inclusion becomes expendable, we will move on.

Representation Without Commitment Is Public Relations

The problem is larger than TAAL, but TAAL’s experience is central because it is the only Armenian-American organization specifically focused on this kind of anti-hate work. Los Angeles County recognized that distinction when it brought TAAL into LA vs Hate, not simply because it was an Armenian organization, but because its work directly addressed hate, discrimination, defamation, disinformation, historical erasure, public education, prevention and cross-community engagement.

Then TAAL was dropped, while organizations representing other communities remained part of LA vs Hate. That distinction matters. It cannot reasonably be dismissed as an organizational grievance when Armenian-American representation within that specific anti-hate partnership ended while representation for other communities continued.

Los Angeles County frequently speaks the language of equity, diversity, inclusion and representation. Those principles mean very little if Armenian participation is temporary, symbolic or treated as disposable. If an Armenian-American organization doing precisely the kind of anti-hate work the County claims to value can be dropped without explanation, and repeated requests for answers can simply be ignored, what does that representation actually mean?

Symbolic inclusion is not equality. Representation without institutional commitment is public relations.

Glendale Was Offered Solutions Too

Los Angeles County is not the only institution that has failed to meaningfully engage.

On behalf of TAAL, I also reached out to members of the Glendale City Council and the City Manager with a proposal containing several concrete ideas for addressing anti-Armenian hate as well as bigotry and hate targeting other communities. The proposal was not limited to Armenians; the goal was to create broader anti-hate and public-education initiatives that could benefit Glendale as a whole.

There has not been a single response.

That silence is particularly troubling because Glendale is not dealing with a hypothetical problem. Anti-Armenian hate material appeared in 2023. Officials were warned. Community members asked for preventive action. A town hall was held. Concrete proposals were presented. Now anti-Armenian material has appeared again.

At what point does government stop issuing condemnations and start building infrastructure designed to prevent the next incident?

Armenians Must Also Ask More of Ourselves

Government bears responsibility, but the Armenian community also has to ask whether we have been persistent enough in demanding accountability after the initial outrage fades.

Armenians are often quick to respond when an offensive incident occurs. We condemn it, share it, discuss it and demand answers. But sustained pressure is harder. Holding elected officials accountable months later, asking what became of promised initiatives, demanding follow-through and insisting on measurable results require persistence, and we have not always done that well. There have been individual expressions of outrage and important efforts by community members, but too often there is little sustained pressure after the immediate crisis passes.

Elected officials, including Armenian elected officials, should know that statements of solidarity are not enough. Representation requires action when Armenian constituents are targeted, and accountability when institutions fail to respond. If Armenian Americans expect government to treat us as a constituency that matters, we also have to behave like one prepared to demand accountability when government fails us.

There is an uncomfortable question Armenian Americans increasingly ask themselves.

If another major ethnic, religious or minority community were repeatedly targeted with hate propaganda in one of the cities most closely associated with that community in the United States, would the response look the same? Would elected officials remain largely silent after the initial condemnation? Would that community’s representation within a flagship anti-hate initiative be singled out and dropped while organizations representing other communities remained? Would repeated calls and emails to senior officials go unanswered? Would a city government ignore a proposal offering concrete anti-hate initiatives?

Would everyone simply move on?

These questions are not about asking for preferential treatment. Armenian Americans are not asking to be treated as more important than anyone else. We are asking whether we are being afforded the same institutional seriousness, responsiveness, representation and protection that government says every targeted community deserves.

And that is precisely why so many Armenian Americans increasingly feel like second-class constituents.

What Are They Actually Going to Do About It?

Nobody can credibly claim that officials were unaware. They were told. They attended the town hall. They saw the 2023 hate material. They heard the questions. They knew Armenian Americans were asking for prevention rather than another round of statements after the fact.

Then anti-Armenian hate surfaced again. TAAL issued its Aug. 28 statement. Robin Toma responded. I replied. I also contacted the Executive Office of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

More than a week has now passed. What has actually changed?

Where is the prevention plan? Where is the public education campaign? Where is the sustained anti-hate initiative? Where is the accountability? What concrete action has been taken to make sure this does not happen again?

As of this writing, I have seen none.

Armenian Americans do not need another proclamation. We do not need another carefully worded statement of solidarity. We do not need another official telling us how deeply concerned they are after the hate has already appeared.

We need to know what they are actually going to do about it.

Anti-Armenian hate appeared in 2023. Officials were warned. Three years later, it happened again. And even now, after the latest incident, the public statements, the emails, the explanations and the renewed demands for action, Armenian Americans are still waiting.

How many times does this have to happen before Armenian Americans are treated like a community worth protecting before the next incident, rather than comforted after it?

(Vic Gerami is an award-winning Armenian-American journalist, documentary filmmaker, publisher of The Blunt Post, and Founder and Chair of Truth And Accountability League (TAAL), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization combating hate, defamation, disinformation, and historical erasure while advocating for Armenians and other marginalized communities, including LGBTQ+ people and women.)