PARADISE - The need for individual action to reduce racism was stressed during a discussion about discrimination Monday.
  Paradise resident Lorenzo Durham said it's a constant battle to educate each other about racism. He said there were significant changes as a result of the Civil Rights Movement, but there is still a lot to be done.
  "The only thing that works in the end are. changes within ourselves," Durham said.
  Durham was one of 27 who braved the torrential rainfall to attend Monday's forum at the Paradise library. The Paradise Center for Nonviolence and Tolerance sponsored the event after receiving feedback from its Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration Jan. 16.
  Three people spoke at the event, including Lorenzo Diamond, who served as a clergyman in Mississippi during the Civil. Rights Movement; Matt Jackson, a Butte College vice president; and Marvin Megibow, a Chico State University psychology professor.
  After the speakers gave a short presentation, there was a considerable discussion where people related their experiences to the audience.
  Durham discussed some of the discrimination he and other American Indians have faced over the years, including racial profiling on the ridge. He also noted now tribal perspectives were ultimately eliminated from a U.N. report on human rights in the United States in the 1990s.
  Reeny Breevaart reflected on her experiences raising. eight adopted children, four of which

Lorenzo Durham
Paradise resident

are black or mixed-race. She said her family was questioned by state officials about adopting a black child, because the family was predominantly white at the time.
  her children.
  "It's been a very, very uncomfortable kind of situation to live with," she said.
  Living on the ridge has also been difficult. Breevaart said her children deal with racial slurs and insults in school.
  She said discrimination goes beyond the color barrier. Breevaart noted one of her children is autistic and was recently attacked at Butte College.
  Joe Person Sr., one of the organizers of a monument for King in Chico, related some of his experiences with racism living in Alabama and Chico. He said there should be :a larger discussion with everyone in the community invited. .
  "I think this is first class," Person said.
  Ricardo Maldonado, the center's executive director, said racism won't go away and will fester if it's not addressed. He noted that he feels perfectly safe working on the ridge, although several people told him about racism in the area.
  "Issues still need to be dealt with, both in schools and in the community," Maldonado said.

Staff writer Ryan Olson can be reached at 896-7763 or rolson@chicoer.com.