Social Justice Learning Institute

Abigail Cholico is a student of our Healthy Lifestyle Class Series at Dolores Huerta Elementary School in Lennox, CA. Abigail has been attending the nutrition classes for 4 years now and credits the classes with her improved health and her family’s improved eating habits. Abigail came to the classes suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure. She would complain of midday trembling because of her blood sugar, and medication and blood sugar pricks were getting too expensive for her. She was also dealing with a lot of stress at home that lead to many health problems.

After coming to the nutrition classes at the parent center, Abigail learned skills to improve her eating habits. She has lost over 40 pounds and her blood sugar and blood pressure has vastly improved. She attributes her better health to the lessons on sugar and sodium, healthy recipes, and tips for making meals for herself and her family healthier. In addition to her improvements, Abigail’s husband has started to show interest in learning about healthy eating and her eight year old grandson also has slowly started to eat vegetables. She has become a leader and example in recent cohorts of Healthy Lifestyle Classes at Huerta, sharing her experiences and tips for reducing sugar intake and cooking at home.

Last month, Abigail was honored as a Champion of the community at the All funded partners meeting for CalFresh Healthy Living in Los Angeles County. She’s a true advocate for healthy eating as a way to prevent diseases. We are very proud of Abigail’s accomplishments and will work to build on her leadership capacity for future classes and meetings!

The Social Justice Learning Institute has made significant strides toward housing justice for its program participants and all Inglewood residents.

On June 12th, Inglewood City Council unanimously passed a 5% annual rent cap with just cause eviction protections. This victory comes after more than three years of organizing and mobilizing led by the Uplift Inglewood Coalition, for which SJLI has served as the anchor organization since it was formed in 2015. Before the vote took place, Coalition members provided public comment for over three hours asking for a 5% rent cap instead of the City’s proposed 8% rent cap, and it worked! We want to lift up the leadership of our fellow Coalition partners Holy Faith Episcopal Church, 9to5 California, L.A. Voice, CLUE: Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, and Youth Justice Coalition.

Additionally, SJLI directly responded to our students’ need for stable housing by investing in an apartment for Urban Scholars program alumni this May. Housing insecurity is a major barrier for young men of color as they complete college or pursue gainful employment. To date, four alumni have moved in and will continue to receive supportive services to help them thrive.

We look forward to building upon these housing justice milestones with the Coalition and our community!

People of Uplift Inglewood. Photo courtesy of Giovanni Solis.

On April 20, 2019, the Social Justice Learning Institute teamed up with Compton Creek Mosquito Abatement District to host Compton’s first Earth Day Festival at Davis Middle School! Beats and Bites 2019 featured special performances from Grammy-nominated rapper and Compton native Yo-Yo, as well as soul artists Elaine Gibbs & the NU Soul Band, Kim Yarbrough and Jesse Campbell (from The Voice), and Ronee Martin (from America’s Got Talent).

During Yo-Yo’s performance, she spread positive messages about youth empowerment and community improvement.

The morning was off to an overcast and chilly start, but hundreds of community members joined the festivities throughout the day. Attendees of all ages came to the event to enjoy live music, learn about environmental awareness from community partner organizations, and enjoy great eats from local food vendors.

Electric vehicle education and advocacy group, Plug In America, hosted an electric vehicle test drive. Attendees had the opportunity to test drive electric vehicles from Tesla, BMW, Nissan, MINI, Honda and Toyota. The Social Justice Learning Institute also connected residents to energy- and money-saving rebates and incentives through the emPOWER program, a countywide initiative led by Liberty Hill Foundation that engages working class communities of color to options for sustainable energy usage.

In addition to promoting energy efficiency, these programs also improve air quality in environmentally burdened neighborhoods like Compton. Also demonstrating a commitment to air quality, the Office of Assemblymember Mike Gipson (District 64) donated 8 IQAir HealthPro Compact Air Purifiers, which were raffled off to attendees. These efforts will promote cleaner air and the prevention of respiratory conditions.

Children and families were also able to participate in a variety of engaging activities including arts and crafts, games and interactive media. Youth media arts organization, Connectopod, hosted a Podcast Listening Station, showcasing youth-produced podcasts centered on identity development and personal growth. The podcasts are the result of Changing the Narrative, a part of a summer Creative Arts program co-hosted by Social Justice Learning Institute and Connectopod, and was sponsored by the California Arts Council.

On March 2nd, SJLI’s Urban Scholars alumni presented at Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Alumni of Color Conference. The conference was established in 2002 to bring awareness to the educational issues impacting communities of color. Three members from SJLI’s Urban Leaders Alumni Council – Paul Terry, Osirus Fulton, and Marcus Pickens – gave a presentation on the individual, institutional and systemic barriers that young men of color face in completing college.Their presentation “Strengthening College Persistence for Young Men of Color” was based on the council’s original research over the past few months.

The Urban Leaders gathered surveys from 194 male college students, who shared personal barriers such as financial hardship and longer commute times. Recommendations made by the Urban Leaders Alumni Council include creating a greater sense of community at universities to increase retention and financial planning support to alleviate financial stress. Our scholars were glad to engage and raise awareness in an open dialogue centered around the experiences of people of color in higher education.

President Obama formed the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Alliance five years ago to address opportunity gaps and the need for support of young men of color. What started out as an initiative during his presidency has blossomed into a network of cities and community organizations around the country who are supporting youth of color to achieve academic and career success.

From February 18-20, 2019, the MBK Alliance brought together hundreds of young people, community leaders and celebrity activists for a weekend of service and dialogue at the MBK Rising! convening. On Monday, participants traveled to Oakland and San Francisco for a day of service painting and providing garden maintenance at local schools.

The three-day convening was filled with moving conversations and performances. John Legend performed Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” and moderated a discussion with Mothers of the Movement – Sybrina Fulton, Rep. Lucy McBath, and Wanda Johnson – whose sons, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, and Oscar Grant, were victims of gun violence.

Obama and NBA player Stephen Curry ended Tuesday evening with conversations about the importance of mentorship and positive role models. They took questions from an audience of youth and discussed their musical influences, masculinity, and the development of confidence.

“How I carry myself – how I speak, what I am educated on, my willingness to try to meet people where they are – can make a huge difference, whether it is five seconds, 10 minutes, multiple run-ins. We all have the platform and the responsibility to shape somebody’s perspective… That one moment can be a difference-maker for a lifetime,” Curry shared.

The Social Justice Learning Institute was invited to attend the event as a grant recipient of My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge. Three of SJLI’s Urban Scholars alumni – Shawn Hill, LeQuan Muhammad, and Marcus Pickens – attended the summit and were able to meet President Obama. LeQuan was also invited to participate in a panel where students discussed their reflections from the event. Our students were inspired by the opportunity to connect with students who had similar life goals. One of Obama’s themes for MBK Rising! was “Connect Learn Share”, and this was possible at nearly every corner of the event.

Partners from Unlock Justice – an initiative funded through the MBK Community Challenge grant.

Marcus Pickens shares his experience, “On the bus back from dinner, we connected with youth from all over the country. Four of us started talking about how the youth always drive change in society and how you can see it historically. It’s always the youth. By the end of the ride, the whole bus of young men were involved in the conversation. We came to the conclusion that it is our responsibility to create the change that we want to see in the world because we understand the conditions.”

Marcus also got to share his entrepreneurial efforts with businessman Mike Muse, actor Michael B. Jordan and President Barack Obama. Marcus spread the word of his mobile haircutting business QuestCutz, handing his business card to Obama and speaking with Jordan and Muse personally. Marcus expressed his gratitude and excitement from the event, “I am extremely honored to have been chosen by the Obama Foundation to attend MBK Rising! with a phenomenal group of young men around the nation that do similar work around positive change in communities of color. I am truly motivated, inspired, and dedicated to continue this work to make our communities better.”

We are thrilled to announce that SJLI’s Urban Scholars program will soon expand into the city of Houston, Texas. In February, Houston City Council voted to approve the partnership, enabling us to serve approximately 250 students in the Houston Independent School District. SJLI will design and implement the program in partnership with the Houston chapter of My Brother’s Keeper, an initiative launched by the Obama administration to support academic achievement for boys and men of color.

Over the coming months, we will meet with Houston city officials, leaders in education and community leaders to customize our Urban Scholars program and ensure our curriculum remains relevant for the unique needs of local students

Every year SJLI’s Educational Equity team coordinates alumni retreats to remain connected with our Urban Scholars alumni, and support them as they navigate through life after high school. Retreats integrate activities that focus on camaraderie, goal-setting, building community, developing trust and socio-emotional support. SJLI’s Alumni Retreats exist to provide youth with a newfound appreciation of nature outside of Los Angeles, and to take a break from the fast-paced lifestyle in the city to focus on their health and well-being. SJLI continued this aspect of our services, as we hosted an alumni retreat in Big Bear from January 26-28, 2018. The opportunity to continue serving youth that we have developed close relationships with allows staff to continue to offer supportive services provided and create opportunities for healing and personal growth. Alumni participated in a wide range of activities from skiing and snowboarding to conversations about race, class, gender and addressing trauma.

In partnership with nearly 100 volunteers from Chase’s The Fellowship Initiative (TFI) youth cohort and local community members, SJLI spent 3 hours on January 20, 2018 revitalizing a garden at Inglewood’s La Tijera Middle School. Led by SJLI’s Health Equity team that exists to provide our communities with access to fresh whole foods, clean and safe spaces, and quality environments, volunteers were guided in the following activities to revitalize SJLI’s La Tijera Middle School garden:

The completion of these tasks surpassed our expectations for the day and made this garden revitalization a tremendous success thanks to the hard work of our volunteers. The soil restoration activities that volunteers performed are part of an integral phase in revitalizing gardens and ensuring that soil is healthy enough to produce high-quality fruits and vegetables. Simultaneously, garden volunteers were educated on the importance of each activity performed during the garden build, and how they contribute to creating better air and soil quality within the city of Inglewood.

Last Thursday, July 24th, I got to meet the President of the United States, the man who holds the most powerful position in the World, Barack Obama! That experience was one of the most exciting and inspirational moments of my life, and I feel very grateful and humbled to have been given the opportunity to do so. Before I can begin to detail my experience meeting the President, I think it is important to share the journey that led me to this opportunity.

In 2008, my mother lost her job because she was told that she did not have the proper educational requirements to maintain the position she had held for many years. Soon after, our home was also taken away. We were devastated. Our future was uncertain. After months of searching and living with minimal resources, a small opportunity arose on the East Coast, and my mother had no choice but to accept the offer; an offer that did not guarantee stability. My mother did not want to drag me through another period of challenges, and she thought it was best for me to live with my father. So, I moved from the white-picket fenced suburbs to the concrete surroundings of the inner-city.

I attended Morningside High School in Inglewood, and joined the Black Male Youth Academy (BMYA), which is a part of the Social Justice Learning Institute’s Urban Scholars program. The BMYA helps prepare students for college through conducting community-based research. The goal is to find tangible solutions to the most challenging problems facing our community. Because of this research, my brothers and I have become self-determined social agents of change.

For the past two years, the BMYA has helped me build a peer and adult support network by building a community of brotherhood with those who face similar challenges. Before I joined the BMYA, I was not aware of all of the barriers that boys and men of color face in inner-city communities like Inglewood. I learned it’s important for youth to be fully aware of the issues in their communities, so that they can play a vital and active role in creating solutions.

This past winter, some of my BMYA brothers and I banded together to create a mobile social media application called “First Cam(era).” The point of the mobile application was to focus on addressing two very prominent and important issues we constantly experience in our community: police brutality and unemployment. We were intentional in using mobile phone technology as a tool to encourage social entrepreneurship, as technology provides an avenue for youth to develop their skills to compete, acquire, and maintain higher quality and impactful careers.

It did not take much convincing when the Social Justice Learning Institute extended an offer to participate in the Brothers, Sons, Selves (BSS) Coalition, which is a partnership with twelve organizations throughout Los Angeles County, all of which focus on improving the lives and education of boys and men of color. In the past year, BSS has helped to pass the School Climate Bill of Rights, in both LAUSD and LBUSD, which supports Restorative Justice as an alternative to suspensions, and promotes a bill AB420 to remove the option for teachers or schools to suspend or expel students for small non-threatening behavioral issues. High rates of suspension for minor acts prevent students from receiving a proper education. How will they be prepared for the future if they are being forced to miss school? There are better ways for schools to address this issue, ways that bring about healing and repair tension. That is why students, like myself, participate in the Brothers, Sons, Selves coalition, and it was because of my participation as a youth leader in the BSS space that I was afforded the opportunity to meet President Obama.

Meeting the President, and the first Black President at that, has given me more motivation to succeed and contribute to the legacy of Black male achievement throughout history. He reminds us to know that even though there are large barriers that surround us, with enough courage and perseverance, our potential is endless and there are no limitations on our success. With his My Brother’s Keeper initiative he is helping to lay a stable foundation for young men of color to receive the support that is needed to build a successful life for ourselves and family. I thank him as well as leaders in our community, such as the Executive Director of SJLI D’Artagnan Scorza, and SJLI staff, all of whom have served as mentors to me and my brothers, and helped to stabilize and deepen our foundation. When I was in that room, standing inches from the President, I was excited for myself, but I was more excited that I was representing SJLI, BSS, family, friends, brothers from the BMYA, and all of the young men of this country and potential we have inside of ourselves. I am my brother’s keeper, and together, we will hold our heads up, stand strong in moments of great challenge, and fulfill our destiny.

Lastly, that moment had brought my life in full circle. When my mother had lost her job and shortly after lost our home, we felt powerless. It felt as if life was crumbling around us. We don’t speak much about those days, but I am certain that my mother felt embarrassed and carried a large burden of shame as we all struggled from day to day. With what she could not offer she would replace with a hug. And that small gesture brought a sense of deep love to our situation. The physical hug itself did not bring us out of the pit, but it gave us hope that we will one day overcome. As I stood shoulder to shoulder with the President Barack Obama, I thought about my mother. I thought about our struggles. I thought about our journey: from the lowest rock-bottom point of our lives in losing our stability, to the highest Mount Everest point of lives in meeting the president. When the president made his rounds shaking hands, and he came to me, I moved past his hand and I embraced with a hug. I wanted him to understand that we are here and we are overcoming.

“Today was good. The highlight of the day was when we talked about the ‘N’ word. It was a highlight for me because both parties made very valid points. I’m really excited for the rest of the summer with this program.”

The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, in a 2009 report stated, the death rate for African Americans was higher than Whites for heart diseases, stroke, cancer, asthma, influenza and pneumonia, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and homicide.

In response to the health crises impacting communities of color, SJLI with funding from The California Wellness Foundation has developed a five-week, hands-on internship and training fellowship. The preceding journal entry was written by a Fellow during his Urban Health Fellowship training.