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New city council initiative may encourage racial harmony

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A new municipal initiative established by the Los Angeles City Council encourages conversations about race and inequity, as well as urges residents to run for office.

In collaboration with the nonprofit social justice organization Community Coalition (CoCo), as well as REVOLVE Impact, Department of the Future, and Advancement Project California, the initiative embRACE LA is trying to bring equity to South Los Angeles. EmbRACE LA’s mission is to unite Angelenos, as well as to encourage underserved communities to come together and make a difference.

Established in the fall of 2016 by LA City Council President Herb Wesson and Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, the goal of embRACE LA is for Angelenos to engage in citywide conversations about race, racism, and inequity. This year’s focus is on racial equity change in policy through an Office of Racial Equity.

Tiffany Caldas, the special project manager at CoCo, as well as the project manager at embRACE LA, said that they are on their third round of conversations.

“We had about a 100 [conversations] between April and June. This fall we have about 20 between council members, community organizations, community members, as wells as cultural institutions around LA,” Caldas said. “Another layer of that, this year we also have an embRACE LA tool kit. We have a number of partners who are using this tool kit as well.”

Conversations usually consist of an estimated 10 – 12 participants who are LA locals, and continue for 2 – 3 hours, according to a press release by the council.

By using the approach to unify communities and engage in conversations as a proposed action to spark justifiable policy change, embRACE LA and the city of Los Angeles will lead as an example for other great cities across the country to address racial equity, according to the press release.

“Within embRACE LA conversations [between Angelenos and organizations], is to talk about race, to have vulnerable and meaningful opportunities to reflect on their own experiences of racism, and as well as systemic forms of racism and oppression.” Caldas said. “With the embRACE LA; conversation with council members will be a much more place-focused in this area [South LA]: what does racism and inequity look like, and what are our next steps to change those lived conditions.”

According to embRACE LA’s website, “EmbRACE LA seeks to foster understanding, healing, and growth throughout Los Angeles by building authentic relationships, changing existing narratives, and advancing public policy solutions. Through a wide-variety of programs and strategies, embRACE LA is an unprecedented partnership between government, organizations and residents.”

The Office of Racial Equity would help close the gap of racial disparities and help LA’s most marginalized communities.

“Today we are living in the Divided States of America with a President determined to pit us against each other by either our political affiliations or often simply by the color of our skin,” Wesson said in a statement. “These divisions have been exacerbated by Trump, but did not start with him. Enough is enough – we must once and for all address the systemic racism in our country and face it head on.”

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