As the lead pastor of McCarty Memorial Church in Los Angeles and Black civil rights leader, I am calling on the California Air Resources Board to approve the Advanced Clean Fleet rule at their meeting this week. The burden of air pollution in our city falls disproportionately on communities of color, and we cannot afford to wait any longer for action.
The latest polls show Congresswoman Karen Bass as the leading candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, yet some people still wonder who is supporting her. Based on the audience at her July 5 press conference, her backers are a large and powerful diverse coalition.
On April 15, 2020, just as the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 crisis and accompanying economic fallout on Black people was coming to light, a set of immediate and long-term demands was issued by a who’s who of Black Los Angeles leaders and organizations – more than 50 in total. The demands were forwarded to nearly every elected official, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who never issued as much as an acknowledgment, let alone scheduling the meeting that leaders requested of him. Five days later, he issued a City budget proposal that stood in direct opposition to the priorities