A New Newsletter for a New Era

There's so much going on these days, it's hard to keep up. We're starting a weekly recap email to keep you in the loop! It's made possible by the work of fantastic volunteers like Rebecca and Dinah and thanks to them, you're now reading the first issue.

This week, we're sharing the audio from our LA Civics 101 teach in and videos of our trainings on community organizing, opportunities to join a teach-in on neighborhood councils and discussions on racial and economic justice around books like Stamped from the Beginning and The Color of Money, plus a few exciting policy wins that are moving LA toward justice.

LA Civics 101

Did you miss our June LA Civics 101 teach-in, which explained how local government works and doesn't? No problem — we recorded it as a podcast, so take a listen during your next walk. We cover questions like "What's the difference between LA City and LA County?" and "What kind of power does the LA City Council have compared to the Mayor compared to the County Board of Supervisors?"

After you listen, reply to this email with other questions you have and what you'd like us to cover in future sessions.  We are working on a comprehensive LA 101 Guide that will help you cut through the confusion of LA politics and learn about key elected and appointed officials, the main levers of powers, how everyday Angelenos can make an impact and more. And stay tuned for a fun video version! 

Neighborhood Organizing Project

Are you interested in connecting with like-minded people in your neighborhood to confront systemic injustice? We recently launched a neighborhood-based community organizing initiative and would love for you to get involved. If you missed our June 14 overview, June 20 1:1/phone banking training or June 30 house meeting training, don't worry — you can watch them here. Community gatherings will be coming (virtually) to your part ofLA soon. Reply to this email for more info.

Recent Wins

Thanks to the Black Lives Matter movement, there have been important steps forward in the fight for transformative justice. We want to highlight one that's received less attention that new policies being passed by LA City and LAUSD. Our Transportation Justice team was proud to play a role as in pushing LA Metro to adopt the Community Safety Approach to System Security and Law Enforcement motion, which is the first step in eliminating the role of law enforcement on our Metro systems and investing in community based approaches to keep the Metro system safe and welcoming for transit riders of color. LA Forward members, as part of the Alliance for Community Transit (ACT-LA), submitted public comments during and ahead of a recent Metro Board meeting and posting on social media in support of community safety. It all happened thanks to wide coalition of grassroots groups who powered this with years of unseen work and LA City Councilmember Mike Bonin for championing this, along with County Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn.

Upcoming Events

July 12, 3 PM - Monthly Meeting - Teach-in on neighborhood councils and more.

Our government system is not designed to make it easy for regular people to get involved and fight for policies that uplift the public good. One problem is the confusing way in which we are expected to give input. It limits opportunities for real grassroots deliberation. Another is the patchwork quilt of different levels and bodies of government. It’s hard to know where to get started and who really has power.

As part of our LA 101 series, we’re hosting a session on the basics of the smallest bodies of government. In the City of LA, those are Neighborhood Councils. We’ll have some NC leaders sharing the basics and how progressives can leverage this problematic system for justice. Plus we’ll have an elected official from one of the small cities in LA County to talk about to effectively participate in those type of places.

We’ll also share updates on all our campaigns and give you the opportunity to ask questions and get involved.

July 14, 8 PM - Book Discussion - Stamped from the Beginning 

This month, we're reading Stamped From the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi. In order to improve as anti-racist activists, we need to understand the history of racism in the US and particularly the history of how anti-Black racism is often deliberately used as a political tool. Stamped From the Beginning is a great narrative of this history which can allow us to start thinking through how to discredit and fight against white supremacy. Past books we've read as a group include Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Patrisse Cullors, City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles, 1771–1965 by Kelly Lytle Hernández, The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, and City of Segregation: 100 Years of Struggle for Housing in Los Angeles by Andrea Gibbons. We recommend them all!

July 28, 7:30 PM - Book Discussion - The Color of Money

This month, our housing book group is discussing The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap by Mehrsa Baradaran. When the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, the Black community owned less than one percent of the United States’ total wealth. More than 150 years later, that number has barely budged. The Color of Money pursues the persistence of this racial wealth gap by focusing on the generators of wealth in the Black community: Black banks. Studying these institutions over time, Mehrsa Baradaran challenges the myth that Black communities could ever accumulate wealth in a segregated economy. Instead, housing segregation, racism, and Jim Crow credit policies created an inescapable, but hard to detect, economic trap for Black communities and their banks.

August 6, 3 PM - SVP LA Fast Pitch

I'm honored to be personally participating in Fast Pitch on behalf of LA Forward.

Fast Pitch is Social Venture Partners LA’ signature program. It's the culmination of a fellowship for community leaders driving systemic change across Greater Los Angeles hosted by. This year's theme is "Liberating Our Future." As we look at the work that each of the 10 presenting organizations are building, they implore us to consider how interconnected our struggles are and how necessarily interconnected our efforts must be to address them. It takes each of us, for all of us to live in a just, and liberated future.

You'll get to hear 10 community leaders share 3-minute pitches on how you can join their movements to bring liberation to all in Los Angeles. 

What We're Reading and Listening To: 

Follow us on Twitter, where we share more every day! @LosAngelesFwd 

 

In solidarity,

David Levitus
Executive Director
LA Forward

A majority of our budget comes from our members’ monthly donations. In 2026, our goal is to raise 60% of our budget from dues-paying members. That will enable us to be 100% accountable to people like you. Your gift allows us to respond rapidly to emerging issues, to take on powerful interests, and spend as little time possible on fundraising so we can focus on the crucial work that needs to get done every day.

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