Santa Monica College (SMC) volunteers from the college’s Black Collegians, Adelante Club, President’s Ambassadors, and other programs partnered with the Black Surfers Collective, the Black Historians, local schools, and community members on Saturday, Sept. 15 to help clean up Santa Monica College’s adopted section of beach, known as the “Inkwell.” The historic site—where SMC student Nick Gabaldón and other African Americans challenged Jim Crow racism and helped open public beaches for all—saw 550 volunteers in total who worked under the bright Southern California sun to pick up trash. 243 pounds including 43 pounds of recyclables were collected from the half-mile stretch of beach. Heal the Bay partners with the site captains for the 73 sites in Los Angeles County (SMC is considered “site captain” for the Pico Blvd./Bay St. site). At last report, LA County had a total of 12,500 volunteers at 73 sites who collected about 37,000 pounds of trash.
