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‘TEDxCrenshaw’ hopes to inspire thought leadership in South LA

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TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design), a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, began as a conference where the aforementioned topics converged. Today TED talks cover a wide rage of topics in the form of short, powerful addresses, usually 18 minutes or less. Close to 50,0000 talks have been given at 10,000 events since the program launched in 2009.

Watching TED talks have become part of a morning routine for some aspiring leaders. One of them is L.A. native Zaneta Smith, who was inspired to create TEDxCrenshaw for our community to help spread ideas from South LA. The 5th Annual TEDxCrenshaw will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Regency West, 3339 W. 43rd St., in South Los Angeles.

Speakers will include Marc Maye, co-founder of 4wrd Progress; Dr. Portia Jackson-Preston, an assistant professor of Public Health at CSU Fullerton; Kawika Smith a high school student activist; Tianning Chen, an Industrial Engineer; and Maceo Paisley, a multi-disciplinary artist.

“We always have one on the first Saturday in October,” Smith said. “We also held TED salons in January and April this year.”

Smith volunteers to coordinate the event and leads a 15-member volunteer team which locates the venues; recruits speakers; handles social media; and finds sponsorships to make the event successful.

“It’s like winning a Grammy to have your event featured on TED.com,” Smith said, explaining that it has taken a lot of work to pull off this event for the past five years. “It’s been impactful, which was the whole point.”

Smith admits that she lives, works and breathes TEDxCrenshaw throughout August and September, sustaining the team, contracting videographers and overseeing the event, even though she holds down a full-time job. But she was inspired to make it all happen for her community.

“They had TEDx talks in Manhattan Beach and Culver City,” said Smith. “And I knew a lot of great people doing great things here.”

Independently run TEDx events are licensed by TED, almost like franchises. Talks lack any commercial, religious or political agenda and they are not a platform for professional speakers.

TED is a nonprofit, nonpartisan foundation. Their agenda is to make a wide range of ideas accessible so they may foster learning, inspiration and wonder, provoking conversations that matter.

For more information on TEDxCrenshaw, or to get tickets for the event, visit

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