Newsmaker of the year Archives

The Genocide Memorial is blessed at a candlelight vigil in the parking lot of the Glendale Civic Auditorium last April after a ceremony sponsored by United Young Armenians. (Tim Berger / Staff Photographer)

It was hard this past spring to look around Glendale without being reminded it’s been 100 years since the first genocide of the 20th century.

The events on April 24 and the days and weeks leading up to it contained memorials, lectures and a march through the streets of Hollywood.

More than 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Empire starting in 1915.

Many of the survivors’ descendants live not only in Glendale but surrounding Southland cities as well.

While the local Armenian community carried out its observance, the cities of Glendale and Los Angeles were praised for their assistance, and people from many different backgrounds offered their support.

“I have to say it was unprecedented, not just the SoCal Armenian-American community, but all communities of faith and of ethnicities to come together to show that unity is truly power, to accomplish what was a singular goal that we had to raise awareness and to deter future inhumanities by man toward man,” said Garo Ghazarian, co-chair of the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee Western Region.

tn-gnp-more-than-130000-people-take-part-in-la-rally-commemorating-armenian-genocide-centennial-20150424 The centennial committee is composed of representatives from 19 Armenian-American organizations with a goal of not only spreading awareness about the genocide, but also demanding that the Republic of Turkey end its denial of the atrocities and recognize them.

Around the anniversary date, Glendale Community College held a day of remembrance with several guest speakers, while a commemoration event was held at the Alex Theatre.

Around the city, hundreds of businesses placed signs on their front doors and windows provided by the centennial committee that stated they would be closed on April 24.

Mayor Ara Najarian said he reflects on the centennial as a milestone in showing how the genocide failed to annihilate the Armenian people and how far the community has come.

“Support is continuously growing. I see more and more people that learn about the genocide are willing to support us in our efforts,” he said.

The largest anniversary event was a 150,000-person march through Hollywood on April 24 to protest the Turkish government’s denial.

For Ghazarian, seeing participants ranging from the elderly to college students and even younger gave him a feeling of “ultimate empowerment.”

While the 100th anniversary is now in the past, planning for the 101st is underway.

“It does not end here,” Ghazarian said. “I can say without any hesitation that we have only just begun.”

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Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com