Frontlines to Headlines September

LINKS TO RECENT NEWS MEDIA ARTICLES ON LIBERTY HILL AND  THE ORGANIZERS WE SUPPORT

CHANGE

Our post-Labor Day round-up catches us up on media attention from August and early September. Policy-change wins in oil drilling regulation and the Los Angeles County minimum wage increase (following the City of L.A. in June) along with passage of the state wage theft legislation (now on Governor Brown’s desk) top the list.

New regulations from the South Coast Air Quality Management District require oil companies drilling in urban areas to cut back on noxious odors and give residents an easier way to complain. Liberty Hill-funded coalition Stand Together Against Neighborhood Drilling (STAND) is at the forefront of the resident movement, and in a report on the change, the Los Angeles Times quoted Bahram Fazeli of coalition member Communities for a Better Environment.

The L.A. Times turned to Liberty Hill for background and data on another story about South L.A. residents battling oil companies over residential pollution. Aljazeera also covered a protest organized by STAND.

Alexandra Suh of Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA), a key anchor group in the fight for passage of statewide wage theft enforcement bill AB 588, spoke to Southern California Public Radio as the bill passed both houses of the California State Legislature and headed to Governor Brown’s desk. (The Times chatted earlier with Alexandra in their “chat and a selfie” column.)

Passage and implementation of wage theft enforcement is a goal of a Liberty Hill partnership fund, the Fund for Equity and Economic Dignity (FEED), whose grantees include the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund, mentioned in this L.A. Times story of the injustices workers experience through wage theft.

The County minimum wage increase spurred more coverage. A Wall Street Journal article about how the minimum wage increase will impact L.A.’s garment industry quoted Marissa Nuncio, director of the Garment Worker Center, who stressed the importance of curbing wage theft.

A Huffington Post piece mentions the work L.A. VOICE and Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) have done to mobilize workers. In The Times also covered the County wage increase with a piece by ACCE member, Martha Sanchez.

Frontlines to Headlines June/July 2015

LINKS TO RECENT NEWS MEDIA ARTICLES ON LIBERTY HILL AND  THE ORGANIZERS WE SUPPORT
POLICING & CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liberty Hill’s Brothers, Sons, Selves Coalition scored a major victory as Los Angeles Unified School District responded to youth organizing efforts and agreed to allocate Local Control Funding Formula dollars to services for students in need rather than school police. Education Week covered the story, also mentioning Youth Justice Coalition (YJC), and Witness L.A. mentioned Community Coalition in its report.

When Sheriffs in the Antelope Valley targeted Section 8 renters, especially African Americans and Latinos, with harassment and intimidation, The Community Action League (TCAL) organized community members against discrimination. After a long campaign that involved a federal lawsuit against the Cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that conditions in the region for Section 8 renters have improved dramatically.

Southern California Grantmakers hosted a briefing on Proposition 47 to discuss philanthropy’s role in implementing the new law. Liberty Hill CEO, Shane Goldsmith, spoke at the event. Check Southern California Grantmakers’s website for more.

All of Us or None is among the groups pushing for a federal ban on job applications that include questions about criminal history. The Houston Forward Times and the District Chronicles turned to All of Us or None founder, Dorsey Nunn, for quotes on the “Ban the Box” campaign.
ECONOMIC JUSTICE

 

 

 

 

 

 

KPCC hosted a panel on L.A.’s minimum wage hike that featured Kathy Hoang of the Restaurant Opportunities Center Los Angeles (ROC-LA). An Al Jazeera article on wage theft in Los Angeles also mentioned ROC-LA and cited research by the group.

NBC News reported on tenants of a La Crescenta apartment complex who are facing drastic rent increases. The report quotes Larry Gross of Coalition for Economic Survival (CES) on the importance of rent control. CES also appeared in an article about how Los Angeles City Council is considering boosting housing stock by legalizing unpermitted rental units. Larry Gross offered a favorable opinion of the plan to KPCC.

Long Beach City Council approved measures that will strengthen the City’s Rental Housing Inspection Program, giving added protections to tenants. The Long Beach Post and Long Beach Press Telegram both mentioned Housing Long Beach (HLB) in their coverage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intersections South L.A. published a story on the relationship between health and housing conditions in South Los Angeles. The article quotes Nery Cividanis of Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE).

A KPCC report on who will foot the bill for extensive earthquake retrofitting in Los Angeles quoted Steve Diaz of Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN) who spoke out against placing the burden on renters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Los Angeles Metro is attempting to speed up bus boarding by allowing passengers to enter at all doors. The Bus Riders Union expressed support for the plan, which is currently undergoing testing. KPCC has the story.
IMMIGRATION

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the heels of Donald Trump’s disparaging remarks about immigrants, the presidential hopeful journeyed to L.A. for a meeting with Hollywood conservatives. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles (CHIRLA) organized a demonstration outside the event, and several news outlets covered the story including ABC, NBC and L.A. Weekly.

Los Angeles City Council voted to implement new regulations against street vendors operating at public parks and beaches that include fines and possible misdemeanor charges. The Los Angeles Times covered the story and quoted Joseph Villela of CHIRLA, and a Reuters story on the issue quoted Becky Dennison of LA CAN. Both activists criticized the plan.
GENDER JUSTICE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teni Adewumi of Black Women for Wellness (BWW) travelled to Pittsburgh to speak at Kinks, Locks & Twists, a conference on women’s health issues. The New Pittsburgh Courier has the story.
ENVIRONMENT

 

 

 

 

 

A Health Affairs Blog article on philanthropists targeting climate change gave a nod to Liberty Hill’s Clean Up Green Up campaign.

RETURN TO LIBERTY HILL HOME PAGE

Building Power for Grassroots Organizing through LA County Commissions

By Crystal Shaw

Laurie Jones Neighbors

 

On a sunny April morning, I joined more than 62 grassroots leaders, organizers and influencers from across L.A.’s diverse communities on the beautiful grounds of the LA84 Foundation in the Historic Adams District. We were there for Liberty Hill’s Wally Marks Leadership Institute For Change training on L.A. County commissions.  I attended the training session with a level of excitement to learn about an aspect of government I only had limited knowledge of.  I had no idea I would gain information that could impact my own community.

Commissions? Does the word bring to mind a picture of a line of authority-figure types sitting like judges through some boring meeting? What could commissions have to do with Liberty Hill’s focus on supporting leaders in the movement for social justice?

Just this: Power.

If you’ve ever wanted to do something to effect positive change, becoming an advocate-commissioner on one of L.A. County’s almost 200 commissions or boards is one of the most strategic ways available to get your voice heard and bring grassroots community perspective to the table on important issues. The whole point of these commissions is to get the public involved in County-related issues and to advise and make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors.

Liberty Hill President and CEO Shane Goldsmith

 

Liberty Hill President and CEO Shane Goldmith, who also sits on the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, opened the program by pointing out that “Liberty Hill exists to build power for people who are left out of the power structure every single day.  And we do that by making sure that government is accountable to everyday Angelenos, especially people who are excluded from the decisions that affect low income people, people of color, LGBTQ people, women.”

A Soundtrack for Social Justice, as Heard at Liberty Hill’s Upton Sinclair Dinner

At the 33^rd annual Upton Sinclair Dinner, Liberty Hill Foundation celebrated the new generation taking up the struggle for social justice.  As young leaders backed by Liberty Hill are pushing for restorative justice in schools, fighting for a cleaner environment and stopping families from being split apart by deportation, musicians from all genres are proving that protest music is alive and well.  Here you will find the Upton Sinclair Dinner soundtrack, which includes social justice songs from local artists, national chart-toppers and everyone in between.

While some of these songs reference political music from the ’60s and ’70s, others are rooted firmly in the sounds of today.  There are topical responses to injustices in Ferguson, Los Angeles and elsewhere, as well as songs that meditate on the broader concepts of solidarity and movement building.  In Oscar winner John Legend’s case, the fight for justice goes beyond music.  The singer campaigned to pass Proposition 47 in California, and recently launched a new campaign called “Free America,” which will target mass incarceration nationwide.

Frontlines to Headlines March 2015

LINKS TO RECENT NEWS MEDIA ARTICLES ON LIBERTY HILL AND  THE ORGANIZERS WE SUPPORT

POLICING & CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

As the Skid Row community reacts to the shooting of an unarmed Black man, Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN) has responded by demonstrating outside the LAPD headquarters, demanding an independent investigation into the killing, and calling for more mental health professionals in the neighborhood. See the L.A. Times, the Huffington Post, LAist, KABC Radio AM 790, Press TV, and Yahoo News for coverage. Neon Tommy’s report mentions Youth Justice Coalition’s (YJC) participation in demonstrations as well. For more background, see the Daily Beast’s recent article on the history of Skid Row. The piece quotes LA CAN organizer Steve Diaz on how the Safer Cities Initiative has led to a “police occupation” of the neighborhood.

YJC is co-sponsoring SB124, a bill that seeks to limit the use of solitary confinement in juvenile detention centers. The Chronicle of Social Change and Witness L.A. have the story.

Frontlines to Headlines January 2015

LINKS TO RECENT NEWS MEDIA ARTICLES ON LIBERTY HILL AND  THE ORGANIZERS WE SUPPORT

CHANGE

InnerCity Struggle (ICS) organizer, Jennifer Maldonado

 

KPCC ran an article about how restorative justice techniques are beginning to take hold in L.A. Unified schools as suspensions and expulsions decline. Liberty Hill’s Brothers, Sons, Selves Coalition has been instrumental in advancing restorative justice in L.A.’s schools.

Equal Voice published a piece by InnerCity Struggle (ICS) organizer, Jennifer Maldonado, on her work fighting for healthier communities in East L.A.

ENVIRONMENT

The oil company, Freeport McRoRan, announced that it would no longer pursue expanding its operation at the Jefferson drill site in South L.A.’s West Adams neighborhood. The announcement comes after Liberty Hill’s Fund for Environmental Health and Safety grantees, Redeemer Community Partnership and Esperanza Community Housing led organizing efforts to address the drill site’s toxic impact on the neighborhood. See the L.A. Times and KPCC for more.

POLICING

#BlackLivesMatter demonstrators camped outside LAPD’s headquarters for over a week to demand justice for unarmed people of color killed by police. LAist covered the protest and featured quotes from Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN) organizer, Pete White.

Frontlines to Headlines Dec.-Jan. 2014

LINKS TO RECENT NEWS MEDIA ARTICLES ON LIBERTY HILL AND  THE ORGANIZERS WE SUPPORT

CHANGE

With major changes coming to immigration policy in 2015, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles (CHIRLA) continues to make headlines as a leading organization on the issue. CHIRLA appeared in several publications as the President’s executive action was announced, including the Chronicle of Philanthropy. The organization’s public education event drew large numbers to the L.A. Convention Center, drawing coverage from outlets including KPCC and the L.A. Times. CHIRLA member Isobel Sandoval and her family were profiled in KPCC’s MultiAmerican blog.

As undocumented immigrants become eligible for driver’s licenses, the Pomona Economic Opportunity Center is helping them navigate the DMV and prepare for tests. The L.A. Times and the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin have the story.

Nationwide protests against police killings of unarmed African Americans continued through December, and demonstrators gathered in L.A. in response to the decision not to indict the officer who killed Eric Garner. Epoch Times has the story with a quote from Los Angeles Community Action Network member, Homid Khan.

As reported by LA School Report and the Los Angeles Daily News, the Labor/Community Strategy Center is calling for greater oversight of school police in the wake of revelations that LAUSD police possess heavy arms like grenade launchers and mine resistant vehicles.

ECONOMIC JUSTICE

 

 

 

 

 

Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) and Strategic Concepts in Organizing & Policy Education (SCOPE) are among the organizations pushing for a boycott of the El Super supermarket chain, where workers are fighting for better conditions and calling attention to health code violations. The L.A. Times has the story.

Several Liberty Hill organizing partners, including the Black Workers Center, Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA), Restaurant Opportunities Center Los Angeles (ROC-LA), and Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), demonstrated at City Hall before an Economic Development Committee hearing on wage theft. LA Weekly picked up the story. Footage of the event is also on Youtube.

A CBS Los Angeles TV news report on wage theft mentioned ROC-LA and interviewed two ROC-LA members who are wage theft victims.

ACCE and other groups presented the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development with the “Grinch of the Year Award” for contributing to foreclosures by auctioning off delinquent loans. Housing Wire has the story.

The City of Long Beach will consider an ordinance called the Multi-Housing Habitability Ordinance/Program (MHHP), which would help ensure greater access to affordable, safe housing for residents through new methods of code enforcement. A Signal Tribune article quoted Kerry Gallagher of Housing Long Beach and discussed the organization’s work on holding landlords accountable.

The L.A. Times quoted Larry Gross of the Coalition for Economic Survival in an article about City Council’s growing concern over short-term housing rental website, Airbnb. Gross spoke about how short-term rentals contribute to the housing shortage.

An L.A. Times article on Geoffrey Palmer, the real estate developer known for downtown apartment complexes, mentioned how SAJE worked to make sure one of Palmer’s projects included affordable units.

An Al Jazeera America piece on the transit justice movement mentioned the Bus Riders Union’s work preventing fare increases and supporting equal service in all neighborhoods.

ENVIRONMENT

 

 

 

 

 

T.R.U.S.T. South L.A. helped organize the recent CicLAvia event in South Los Angeles that closed streets to traffic while Angelenos biked from downtown L.A. to Leimert Park. Check StreetsBlog L.A. for background, and see another Streetsblog L.A. article for pictures and stories from the event.

Frontlines to Headlines Nov.-Dec. 2014

LINKS TO RECENT NEWS MEDIA ARTICLES ON LIBERTY HILL AND  THE ORGANIZERS WE SUPPORT

CHANGE

As the nation responded to the ongoing killings by police of unarmed young men of color, protesters in L.A. took to the streets and community-based organizations issued statements of solidarity. ABC TV’s breaking news coverage of responses to the failure to indict began with Youth Justice Coalition’s demonstration in Leimert Park. An organizer with Labor Community Strategy Center was one of a gallery of young people of color pictured on fusion.net and explained why they came out. NBC News mentioned the Korean Resource Center (KRC) in an article about Asian-Americans showing solidarity with Ferguson demonstrators. The article quotes a joint statement from KRC and other organizations. Liberty Hill’s blog carried a statement from the Brothers, Sons, Selves Coalition.

 

The announcement of President Obama’s executive action on immigration drew praise along with calls for a more comprehensive solution. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), as a national leader in the immigration reform movement, was sought after for comment (L.A. Times, CNN, Washington Post), and the group’s role in meetings with the White House earlier this year was described (New York Times). Pilipino Workers Center, CHIRLA and KIWA members were interviewed by publications from various parts of the Southland including Orange County Register, EPG News and Inquirer.net. Pomona Economic Opportunity Center (PEOC)’s plans for a forum to help undocumented immigrants learn about the new plan was part of coverage in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and the San Bernardino County Sun.

 

ECONOMIC JUSTICE

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) made national headlines when the organization helped an Azusa family become the first in the country to buy back their foreclosed home. NBC, ABC, and CBS all covered the story, along with the L.A. Times and the Washington Post.

The PBS documentary series, America by the Numbers, aired an episode about young Cambodian-Americans in Long Beach. Part of the documentary follows members of Khmer Girls in Action as they discuss the role of organizing in their community. The Long Beach Press Telegram has more on the episode.

The Nation’s StudentNation blog featured an entry from Californians for Justice, about the organization’s work to pass Prop 47.

PEOC is creating a program specifically geared toward helping women find job opportunities. Check the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin for more.

EdSource ran a piece about community groups making a difference in the educational system. InnerCity Struggle and Community Coalition were both featured.

ENVIRONMENT

Politicians, community members, and activists are working to shut down a battery recycling plant in Vernon that has been leaking toxins into the surrounding neighborhood. NBC’s coverage featured a quote from Mark Lopez, Executive Director of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice.

An urban oil drilling site in South Los Angeles is sickening neighbors with dangerous fumes, and using toxic chemicals feet away from homes. Liberty Hill Fund for Environmental Health and Safety grantees, Redeemer Community Partnership and Esperanza Community Housing helped mobilize community members to attend a hearing about the site at City Hall. Check the L.A. Times, My News L.A., Streetsblog L.A., and KPCC for coverage.

LGBT RIGHTS

The Colorado Anti-Violence Program, a Queer Youth Fund grantee, hosted an event in observance of national Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to memorialize transgender victims of hate crimes. Denver Westworld has the story.

RETURN TO LIBERTY HILL HOME PAGE

Liberty Hill Environmental Partners Fight Oil Drilling Plans in South LA

Kitchen window view of drilling site

By Joe Rihn

At Liberty Hill Foundation we understand that we all need clean air, and we all deserve safe neighborhoods, free from toxic chemicals.  But for some Angelenos who live in close proximity to urban oil wells, these necessities don’t exist.  Noxious fumes and continuous earsplitting noise are part of everyday life near drill sites, which are often placed in low-income communities of color.  With oil companies looking to increase production, more families are being placed at a greater risk.  That’s why we have established the new Fund for Environmental Health and Safety, which puts resources in the hands of organizations working to keep communities safe from drilling’s dangerous side effects.

Fund for Environmental Health and Safety grantees, Redeemer Community Partnership and Esperanza Community Housing, put those resources into action on a recent Tuesday afternoon at City Hall.   Liberty Hill organizing partners and other community members attended a public hearing about oil drilling in South L.A.’s West Adams neighborhood to take a stand for environmental justice.

Give to Liberty Hill via AmazonSmile

By Crystal Shaw

At Liberty Hill we understand that life is busy.  Time is valuable and in this day and age, people are constantly trying to figure out how to do more with less, and how to do several things at once.  Now you can shop and donate to grassroots organizing at the same time. This could be a breakthrough strategy for the holidays and beyond.

By registering with AmazonSmile and  shopping at smile.amazon.com you can donate a percentage of every online purchase you make to Liberty Hill Foundation.

AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon with the same wide selection of products and shopping features as on Amazon.com. In order to browse or shop at AmazonSmile and make donations, customers must first select Liberty Hill Foundation as their charitable organization of choice. Then, for eligible purchases, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price to Liberty Hill!

It’s that easy.  Simply by shopping, you will be supporting awesome social justice right here in L.A. with the click of a button.  During the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, and in the months to follow, you’ll have one more way that you’re giving to Liberty Hill. Thank you!

RETURN TO LIBERTY HILL’S HOME PAGE