Museum Gets Funds for Diversity Training

Gov. Pete Wilson this week announced $2 million in state funding for an innovative diversity program for police officers at the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance in West Los Angeles.

The Tools for Tolerance Diversity Awareness program, begun in 1994, takes police officers and recruits through the museum’s three-hour tour and offers additional training by diversity experts. So far, more than 2,500 officers and recruits have participated from departments ranging from San Francisco to Long Beach.

The program was financed after approval last year of a state bill sponsored by Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles). Funding for the program was included in this year’s state budget.

Rabbi Meyer May, executive director of the center and museum, said participants surveyed gave the program high marks. Among police recruits, 90% gave the program a favorable rating, while 80% of active officers rated it positively.

“There is the idea that we train people in diversity,” May said. “But we provide diversity awareness. We can’t train people to be tolerant. We have to provide them with a variety of mediums by which they will understand that tolerance is a value and serves society well, and hopefully, they will make it a part of their daily life.”