The National Endowment for the Humanities has named California Humanities a funding recipient for its United We Stand initiative, a joint initiative by the National Endowment for the Arts and the NEH, which leverages the arts and humanities to combat hate-motivated violence.

The $50,000 grant will support “What Connects Us, Resilience Against Hate,” a four-part public humanities series that California Humanities, a statewide nonprofit partner of the NEH, is putting on with Zócalo Public Square.

Zócalo and California Humanities launched “What Connects Us” this September with “Do We Need More Food Fights?,” a public program and cooking demonstration that explored how food has created a space for protest and resistance in Mexico.

“What Connects Us” will continue through the summer of 2024, exploring topics including gentrification and the preservation of culture in L.A.’s Crenshaw neighborhood, the role of a Black history museum inside the city’s SoFi Stadium, and the history of white supremacy in the Inland Empire.

“As a Los Angeles-based, national creator of accessible and broad-minded conversations, Zócalo Public Square is proud to partner with California Humanities on a series of public programs to try to better understand—and counter—the country’s increasingly divisive rhetoric and the violence it fuels,” said Zócalo executive director Moira Shourie.

“As a majority minority state, California encompasses diverse cultural traditions and perspectives,” said Rick Noguchi, president and CEO of California Humanities. “In that spirit, we must combat hate-based violence and extremism through the humanities, which play a critical role in developing empathy and strengthening respect and mutual understanding by connecting us through stories and shared experiences. California Humanities views its participation in this national conversation, in collaboration with Zócalo Public Square, as an important initiative to advance equity and help dismantle social and cultural oppression.”