The state of Black America
As the state of America is questionable depending on where you live and your experiences, one consistent thing is the state of Black America. The community, no matter where you go in the country, there’s some level of turmoil. Whether that’s because of morale, lack of community leadership, poverty, food insecurity, housing insecurity, or other extreme issues that have continuously plagued the black community, changes are needed, and somebody has to come to the forefront and address them.
The Los Angeles Urban League Partners hosted a panel discussion on Sept. 13 at USC’s Town and Gown Banquet Hall. The event welcomed Mayor Karen Bass, Los Angeles County Supervisor of the Second District Holly Mitchell, and Councilmember Marqeece Harris-Dawson. Other guests on the panel were Dr. Pedro Noguera, Dean of USC Rossier School of Education, Veronica Melvin, President of and CEO of LA Promise Fund, Capri Maddox, Executive Director of LA Civil Rights and Human Rights Department, and Kamilah Moore, Chairmember of the Reparations Task Force.
The event will be an in-depth discussion led by Bass and Mitchell about the “State of Black America,” as it will center around racial and economic inequalities that blacks and Latinos face in Los Angeles. Other topics that will be discussed during the conversation are, education, multicultural collaboration, and reparations.
“We are thrilled to join forces with NBC4, Telemundo 52, to present this groundbreaking conversation at USC. Our collaboration embodies a shared dedication to fostering economic, education, cultural collaboration, and the important discussion on reparations,” said Ambassador Michael A. Lawson, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Urban League. “We at the Los Angeles Urban League are committed to pushing the boundaries for the advancement of the underserved community in Los Angeles. This event and its live coverage is a testament to the expertise and collective effort of our teams.”
One of the concerns plaguing California and the Black community is the rise of robberies in retail stores across the state. “Well, you know what, things like this happen when there are profits to be made,” Bass said on The Issue Is as clips from a Nordstrom in Northridge was robbed by a mob of masked individuals.
“And one of the things that we need to look at, though, rest assured, they are not selling $10,000 purses in poor communities. They are selling those purses online; they’re selling those stolen goods online,” Bass said. “And so I believe, when you have a crime like that, all of the actors are culpable and need to be dealt with, and so we need to look at the online sales of stolen property because that’s what it is.”
