Governor Gavin Newsom organized labor, community, and elected leaders across South Los Angeles to recognize Black worker contributions to the American Labor Movement on Labor Day at the headquarters of the African American Voter Registration, Education, and Participation Project (AAVREP).
One of our own was thrown in the deep end a few years ago but he refused to drown, and like a phoenix he is rising. His name is Tavis Smiley. Tavis was born in Mississippi, raised in Indiana, but calls Los Angeles his home.
These high-profile deaths of African Americans, along with many others sparked global protests and resulted in politicians and activists on the political Left calling on their cities to and counties to defund their police departments.
This week, Senator Bradford (D-Gardena) and Senate President pro Tempore Atkins (D-San Diego) introduced Senate Bill 2 to increase accountability for law enforcement officers that commit serious misconduct and illegally violate a person’s civil rights.
As the year comes to a close, it is imperative that we use our collective economic power to transform systems and make Black Lives Matter.
On Friday, June 26th, the YWCA Greater Los Angeles convened a virtual Town Hall discussion, “Standing in Solidarity” that spoke on the current state of our country. The conversation addressed important topics, such as the most recent Justice in Policing of 2020, racism, reform, and social injustice.
Elected officials along with activist members unveiled the fear behind the word “defunding” in reference to the irrigation adjustment of city budget.
Calls to #defundthepolice have become the rallying cry of a majority of protests against the Memorial Day death of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The protests, which have been ongoing in several cities across the U.S. since that time, have also created a backlash amongst many Whites.
In response to community pressure, last week, Los Angeles County released initial racial data on who is contracting and dying from COVID-19. The rate of Black death is twice the Black population share. Black people constitute 9% of the population, but 17% of the County’s COVID-19 deaths. While trillions of dollars are being spent on the crisis and there is no shortage of local, state, and federal initiatives, resources are not being directed to meet the particular needs of the Black community. The disproportionate and deadly impact of COVID-19 on the Black community magnifies what we have known, that “underlying conditions” result from an enduring system of racial apartheid and oppression.