Hosted by YWCA GLA President and CEO, Faye Washington, and Moderated by Local Anchor and Journalist, Pat Harvey and the Honorable Karen Bass, U.S. Congresswoman of California, District 37 Spoke
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.
For 127 years, the YWCA GLA’s mission has been to Eliminate Racism and Empower Women. In the wake of protests fueled by the tragic death of George Floyd, a Black man murdered callously at the hands of a White public servant, our nation is finding itself grappling with a reality it can no longer avert, a powerful reality steeped with long standing racial injustice.
Faye Washington opened the Town Hall with a message of solidarity and a Call to Action. “The imperative of YWCA’s mission has been ‘the elimination of racism wherever it exists and by any means necessary.’ The unrests that have unfolded these past few weeks underline the precarious state of race relations in this country brought forth by long standing legacy of structural racism and entrenched inequalities that can no longer be dismissed or brushed away with eloquent prose or speeches,” said the President and CEO. Washington went on to say, “The worldwide demonstrations have amplified the voices of those who can’t speak for themselves. Well, we heard you, and we marveled at those moments of protests.”
Special Guest speaker, Honorable Karen Bass, U.S. Congresswoman of California, District 37, then spoke on the recent death of George Floyd. “We all need to recognize the significance of this all, George Floyd’s murder was so grotesque and it lasted to long and everyone watched it and the guy was looking at the camera with such impunity that has caused a seismic shift,” said the Congressmember.
Pat Harvey, Emmy award winning broadcast journalist, who is a news anchor at CBS2/KCAL9 in Los Angeles, served as the moderator.
The virtual event also included guest speakers such as, Dr. Melina Abdullah, Co-Founder of the Los Angeles Chapter of Black Lives Matter; Avis Ridley-Thomas, Co-Director of the Institute for Nonviolence in Los Angeles and Days of Dialogue; Honorable Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Assembly Member California, 54th District,; Honorable Nury Martinez, President of the Los Angeles City Council; Capri Maddox, Executive Director Los Angeles Department of Civil and Human Rights; Kristin Clarke, President and Executive Director, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Justin Sanders, Co-Managing Partner of Sanders Roberts LLP; Carl E. Douglas, President at Douglas/Hicks Law; Angeline Chen, YWCA Board President Pasadena; Tanis Crosby, YWCA Executive Director, Silicon Valley; Terra Russell Slavin, Los Angeles LGBT Center Director of Policy and Community Build, and Jorja Leap, Director of UCLA Social Justice Research Partnership.
The Town Hall is available via YouTube, and all other social media platforms.
