The Los Angeles County Justice, Care and Opportunities Department (JCOD) and Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles (LISC LA) concluded its 2nd JCOD Incubation Academy on March 28 at the Earvin “Magic” Johnson Park Event Center in Los Angeles with a pitch competition that awarded three local organizations with monetary grants.
Due to the disproportionate effects of COVID-19, the need for assistance in Los Angeles has taken over certain communities. Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas answered the call for help; in the past several weeks, he’s been traveling and delivering PPE to essential workers within his district.
The public health director explained that the decrease in numbers and signs of stabilization are due to the hard work the community did in unity. Businesses and residents that created a space of compliance and concern for safety is reflecting on a county scale. Although the public health department remains cautious, they also remain hopeful of the community and the continual unity in stopping the spread of coronavirus. The county will continue to monitor key benchmarks in hopes of seeing the numbers continue to decrease.
On June 4, at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in L.A., the mayor of Los Angeles participated in “Justice Matters” which opened a dialogue about the current social climate. Pastor Edgar J. Boyd hosted the event and stood on the principle, “If there is equity in access, there will be equity in behavior and celebration.” The purpose for the meeting is vocalize the vision to respond to the inequalities seen on May 25. The Publisher of the L.A. Sentinel Danny Bakewell attended the meeting, “I want to put what’s going on in our society, in our city in particular, in perspective. I’m happy to see all the people out, shoulder to shoulder…it sends a message to the world that they see us, and they hear our cry.”
Hordes of protestors have taken to streets all across the U.S. proclaiming that “Black lives matter” in wake of the death of George Floyd. Videos show that the Black Minneapolis man died after being pinned down beneath three police officers for several minutes.
Support for police and criminal justice reform have made recent headlines but, for Equal Justice Now’s Co-founder Tony Smith and national spokesperson Attorney Benjamin Crump, this fight has been long awaited.
Fostered youth in marginalized communities are always in need of support and attention, but this year has increased the need to draw attention to the millions of young people without stability and structure in their lives. First Place for Youth, a SoCal organization dedicated to help foster youth build the skills they need to make a successful transition to self-sufficiency and responsible adulthood, is putting their best food forward for young adults in foster care.
“If we are to create a more inclusive, equitable and just society, we must listen to our young people. This moment is eerily familiar to when I learned that Martin Luther King, Jr. had been assassinated on April 4, 1968. As the first Black student body president at Morningside High School in Inglewood, I refused to let the movement die with him so I organized a rally in the auditorium where we mourned with the world and made a promise to carry out his mission. Here we are again, decades later, at a monumental moment in our history and on the precipice of another impending breakthrough being led by our collective force of people from all walks of life and every color of the rainbow.”
The City of Los Angeles hasn’t dealt with this much commotion since the 1992 Los Angeles Riots when LAPD officers brutally beat Rodney King. Unfortunately, with white nationalist on the rise, more savage police misconduct is being reported in record breaking numbers throughout the United States. On the flip side, as the harshness of hate gains exposure the power of love is in an uproar to protect The People and the sanctity of justice.
We checked-in with Los Angeleno protestors to hear their thoughts and share in their first hand accounts when demanding justice for George Floyd. Since it’s difficult for people to rapidly respond in the center of compacted trauma, I asked community members to answer any of the following questions: “As an observer or protest participant, Why was it important for you to participate in the #justiceforgeorgefloyed protest? How has the 2020 I Can’t Breathe Rebellion impacted your life? What are you called to do? Or, Why do Black Lives Matter to you?”
Despite these unpredictable times with the COVID-19 pandemic still doing its damage especially to the African-American and Latino population. There is an Ethiopian proverb
that says: If you pick up one end of the stick you also pick up the other. Standing on this wisdom it’s vital that Black women take the time to take care of the most important person in the world —us. We Black and Brown women are strong no doubt but we have a history of putting others before ourselves and that lack of self-care has proven deadly for us. Deadly for our families, the community, and the advancement in all areas from the largest to the smallest.
You must know by now that Oprah Winfrey cares deeply about our mental and spiritual health. She and her creative team work passionately to provide safe spaces for exploration and deep and lasting healing. One of the greatest examples of this is introducing the world to Iyanla Vanzant (OWN’s hit series “Iyanla: Fix My Life”), the soulful inspirational speaker who champions getting to the root of the problem.
In this time isolation Williamson has been watching The Last Dance on ESPN. What he finds most interesting watching Michael Jordan’s documentary is the type of leader he was. “The one thing he said that stands out is he plays like somebody is watching for the first time and doesn’t want to disappoint. You never get a second chance for a first impression. For him to play with that mindset throughout his career says a lot about him.”
Atlanta’s Missing And Murdered: The Lost Children is a five-part documentary series offering an unprecedented look at the abduction and murder of at least 30 African-American children and young adults in Atlanta between 1979 and 1981.
“Bull” marks director Annie Silverstein’s debut. It’s set in
Houston and follows Kris, a troubled 14-year old-girl (Amber Harvard) whose mother is in the state penitentiary, and Abe, an ex-bull rider (Rob Morgan) way past-his-prime who is barely making his living working the weekly rodeo circuits. Both damaged beings are at a crossroads in their lives—very different but none the less the form an unlikely bond and attempt self-discovery before it is too late for them both.
LT: What I am telling the African-American business owners in my community is that to look at their biggest competitors, people can’t buy those big name brands with the same ease, right now.
So this is the opportunity for online retailers to use Facebook Live and Instagram to promote their products and services.
Due to a spate of shootings in Compton that have left 19 dead so far this year, a “Compton Watch: Take Back Our City” rally was held on May 26 in Gonzalez Park to address the recent rash of shootings.