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The L.A. Times reports:
Taline Arsenian walked through the doors of her Glendale middle school classroom 16 years ago expecting to teach her usual math class of 35 students.
When the bell rang, she saw nearly half of the class was absent. Then she remembered the date: April 24, a day observed in recognition of the Armenian genocide.
As the years went by, more students, both Armenians and non-Armenians, began missing school on that date.
Arsenian's family came from an Armenian village that is now part of Turkey. Her grandparents were survivors of an event that left more than 1 million Armenians dead. As a teenager, she shared a bedroom with her grandmother, who told her stories of how her ancestors were deported and her homeland was taken over. And for decades, Armenians struggled for recognition around the globe that a genocide had been perpetrated against their people.
There's more:
This year, Glendale Unified became the first school district in the country to establish a day in remembrance of the genocide, which began in 1915 and resulted in the death of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Turks. Schools will now close on any weekday when it's April 24 in memory of the Armenian genocide.
Southern California is home to the largest Armenian community outside of Armenia, and Glendale has long been seen as a kind of Armenian cultural mecca. People of Armenian descent make up about 40% of Glendale's 210,000 residents. The city remains a point of entry for Armenian immigrants and each year, as April 24 approaches, locals drape Armenian flags over the hoods of their cars, wave them from their car windows and hang them from their businesses. Most stores post signs in both English and Armenian telling customers they will be closed in remembrance of the genocide.
Does Obama care?
More than 20 countries have recognized the genocide, according to a list maintained by the Armenian National Institute. President Obama has not called the massacre a "genocide" since he took office, despite campaign trail promises to do so and heavy lobbying by the Armenian community. Administration officials have said Obama made a necessary decision, crucial to the U.S. alliance with Turkey. Despite this, more than 40 states
— including California — have recognized the genocide, according to the institute.
Never forget.
