Schools will be closed Monday in the Los Angeles and Glendale unified school districts to commemorate Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day and there will be a rally in Little Armenia to mark the 108th anniversary of the start of the events that are widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century, Spectrum News reports.
The LAUSD Board of Education adopted a policy in 2020 to close schools on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Students and teachers in the Glendale Unified School District have been given the day off on April 24 for Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day since the 2013-14 school year.
A bill establishing Genocide Remembrance Day as a state holiday to be observed on April 24 and permitting public schools and community colleges to close in observance of this holiday was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom Sept. 29.
“Genocide commemoration is more than a history lesson. It is a powerful tool to engage people across generations in the sanctity of human rights, the enormity of crimes, and how to prevent future atrocities,” Newsom wrote in his signing message for AB 1801 by then-Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian, D-North Hollywood.
The “Armenian Genocide Commemorative Rally for Justice” is set to begin at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue. It is organized by Unified Young Armenians, which also organized a rally Sunday outside the Azerbaijan Consulate in Brentwood seeking an immediate end to Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor.
Glendale will conduct its 22nd annual Armenian Genocide Commemorative Event at 7 p.m. at the Alex Theatre, with the theme, “The Armenian Experience Through the Lens,” celebrating the 100th anniversary of Armenian cinema.
