Members of the Armenian community gathered at Fresno City Hall for a flag-raising ceremony to mark the 98th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
More than one million Armenians lost their lives under the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923.
Fresno County Supervisor Debbie Poochigian said, "...and we're here really to remember the victims of the genocide. To honor our survivors and we have very few left. And then the third reason really is to pass along our history to our children."
The flags of both the United States and Armenia were raised during the morning ceremony.
Also in Sacramento, California Governor Jerry Brown issued a proclamation naming April 24th as "A day of remembrance of the Armenian Genocide" in the State of California.
Meanwhile, President Obama issued a statement marking the massacre of Armenians but did not use the word genocide.
The federal government has not officially recognized the genocide because Turkey is a NATO ally.