The Power of Art to Build Strong Youth and Heal Trauma
Recently, I joined hundreds of arts advocates at Los Angeles City Hall as a guest speaker for ArtsDay, part of an annual celebration of Arts Week 2016 focused on continuing and expanding investment in the arts. This collaborative effort is led by Arts for LA and Councilman Mitch O’Farrell with support from both the City and County of Los Angeles.
We Have Come Far but We Have Not Overcome: So What Will You Do Tomorrow to Uphold the Legacy of Dr. King?
It’s become an all too familiar pattern. Year in and year out, in observance of the federal holiday that marks the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we celebrate the occasion with a “day of service” or a “series of weekend events” aimed at uplifting and celebrating the tremendous life and legacy of the greatest moral leader of our
Hiding in the Shadows: Don’t Forget About California’s Homeless Children
An older African-American man seated in a wheelchair, his left leg amputated, a crudely worded sign propped up next to him: “Homeless Vet — Support Your Troops.” A blond-haired white woman with her head bowed holding a piece of cardboard that states: “Hungry & Homeless.” The sign of the middle-aged Latino man outside the post office: “I used to be
Answering the Call to Serve: Reflecting on Two Years Leading Children’s Defense Fund-California
Two years ago today I joined the Children’s Defense Fund-California (CDF-CA) as Executive Director. Founded in 1998 as the state office of the Washington, D.C.-based Children’s Defense Fund, CDF-CA champions policies and programs to ensure that all of California’s children have a head start, safe start, healthy start, fair start, moral start, and successful passage to adulthood – a mission
It Could Have Been Me
My daily uniform of a suit and tie, my professional degrees, my position – makes me no different from a black man wearing jeans and a polo shirt standing in front of a liquor store earning a living – or a black man wearing a hoodie walking down the street. But for the grace of God I go. It could
