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Burbank school district to mark Armenian Genocide every April

Lebanese Armenians wave a giant flag during a rally outside the Turkish embassy in the capital Beirut on April 23, 2016, to commemorate the 101th anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

Lebanese Armenians wave a giant flag during a rally outside the Turkish embassy in the capital Beirut on April 23, 2016, to commemorate the 101th anniversary of the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

(Anwar Amro / AFP/Getty Images)
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Within Burbank schools, April will now be recognized as the Armenian Genocide of 1915 Commemoration Month, following a resolution that school board member Armond Aghakhanian introduced last Thursday.

The Burbank school board passed the item with a 3-2 vote, after hearing multiple students and adults encourage its passage on April 21, a few days ahead of April 24, which marked 101 years since the beginning of the genocide.

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About 1.5 million Armenians were massacred by the Ottoman Turks, beginning in 1915, in events still denied by modern-day Turkey.

“It is a cold hard fact that history not remembered is history repeated,” said Mike Dermendjian, a junior at John Burroughs High School.

“We can, together, recognize these atrocities and recognize the lives of the people killed systematically by the Turkish government,” Dermendjian said, adding that the resolution’s passage would entail “a courageous step taken by our board” to help Burbank residents understand the history of the genocide and empower educators and students to learn more about it.

“Through this, we can stop the denial of the Armenian Genocide,” he said.

Burbank Teachers Assn. President Lori Adams backed the resolution, and urged the board to pass it.

“Please, represent your community, and let our students learn the truth of the Armenian Genocide,” she said.

However, two board members — President Charlene Tabet and member Larry Applebaum — abstained from the vote.

Tabet said she could understand the city adopting a resolution commemorating the month, but she said she was uncertain if it should weigh on the Burbank Unified School District.

Applebaum said he took issue with commemorating a single genocide for a month.

“If we’re going to single out one genocide, I have a problem with it being a month. I think that’s excessive. I’m just being honest,” he said.

Aghakhanian reminded fellow members that the resolution “is about showing everyone that as Burbankians, we do care about the Armenian Genocide, thus claiming this month to be the month of commemoration,” he said.

School board member Roberta Reynolds supported the resolution.

“I think there is some value in a supportive statement to a group of people who have felt very unsupported and for that specific nature of it, I support it,” Reynolds said, followed by applause from audience members.

Board member Steve Ferguson also voted in favor of the resolution, but suggested that the district take a broader look at other genocides as well.

“I’m going to support this tonight. I do want to see another resolution come back about the impact of genocide in our communities, what that looks like. I would love to see students be a part of writing it from all walks of life on our campuses,” he said.

After the board members cast their votes, Burbank Unified Supt. Matt Hill recalled recent discussions he’s had during his doctorate degree program where he and others have discussed who gets to write history.

“One thing that has been made very clear tonight is the men, women and children who have been slaughtered do not get that privilege. “And often times, history has been written by those in positions of power,” he said. “We are only stronger if we reflect on our history — the good and the bad. You have my commitment to continue to push that forward in our schools.”

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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @kellymcorrigan

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