On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, the Empowerment Congress Civic Engagement Working Group featured the State of Black Los Angeles County Report via Zoom to over 75 attendees. The report is the result of a collaborative effort by the LA County Board of Supervisors, LA County Anti-Racism Diversity & Inclusion (ARDI) initiative, California State University of Dominguez-Hills (CSUDH) and a host of organizations including Capacity to Impact, Inc., Los Angeles County ISD Enterprise – GIS, Prevention Institute and the Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI). The presentation was facilitated by Dr. Anthony Asadullah Samad, Executive Director of the Mervyn Dymally African American Political & Economic Institute and Dr. Donna J. Nicol, Chair of Africana Studies at CSUDH, co-authors of the report. Dr. Samad and Nicol discussed the origin of the report and its purpose of educating and empowering LA County residents with knowledge of the historical impact of institutional racism and oppression towards the Black community. They guided attendees through the interactive report, explaining key findings and recommendations on the Black experience related to housing, health, income and employment. Attendees posed questions related to mental health, education and the African American historic journey throughout Los Angeles county as well.
Special thanks to the co-chairs of the Civic Engagement Working Group, Gloria Davis, Danette McBride and Dr. Shani Byard.