LA Mourns Passing Of Former LAPD Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger

LOS ANGELES, CA — Funeral services were pending Tuesday for Earl Paysinger, the former first assistant chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, and later vice president of civic engagement at USC, who died at the age of 64.

Paysinger died Monday surrounded by family and friends, according to the LAPD.

The 41-year LAPD veteran had battled cancer and died at a hospital, LAPD Cmdr. Al Labrada told the Los Angeles Times.

“Tonight we lost a champion,” LAPD Chief Michel Moore tweeted Monday evening. “ECP will always be three letters for a man with a tireless work ethic who knew cops count. Who cared deeply for our communities’ youth. A professional I respected for his dedication to his family, faith and convictions.

“Rest in peace and power with the ancestors my brother.”

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Ending Homelessness: Arguing for Housing First

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Rev. Sharpton Receives Leadership Award at Urban One Honors Ceremony

Rev. Sharpton for receiving the REPRESENT Leadership Award from Cathy Hughes and Alfred Liggins as apart of Urban One Honors Award Ceremony. The event heralded the accomplishments of individuals who have made extraordinary contributions in entertainment, media, music, fashion, sports, education, and the community. Footage of the awards is schedule to air on MLK day, January 20th, 2020.

Karim Webb Fights To Bring Equality To The Cannabis Business

n the South Los Angeles community Karim Webb is well-known for his four Buffalo Wild Wings franchises. The Baldwin Hills location, which opened in 2011, brought new jobs to the Crenshaw District along with a fun and safe place for community, members to watch sports.
If you’d have asked him back then what he did for a living he’d say, “I sell chicken and beer.” And he’s done well building all four of his restaurants into profitable businesses – each outperforming other BWW locations nationally.
But through getting engaged philanthropically with non-profits like The Brotherhood Crusade and the California Community Foundation, he quickly realized that he wasn’t just “selling chicken and beer” he was using his restaurants as a training ground to develop people.
“I came to understand that young people saw possibility for themselves because they saw us behave in a way that is consistent with success and thought – I can do that too. They were changing because we were asking them to,” said Webb.
In 2018, when the city of Los Angeles began legislating recreational cannabis, Webb saw it as another opportunity to expand what he had done at BWW.
“One of the really beautiful things about being a BWW franchisee is – Wings. Beer. Sports. – it’s a fun place to be but we really are a platform for helping people discover what is possible for themselves and their lives,” said Webb.
That platform has now expanded to include 4thMVMT, a local firm helmed by Webb, that partners, trains and finances individuals who qualify for Social Equity to become entrepreneurs through owning retail cannabis businesses.

 

 

L.A. City Council Votes to Move Forward with New Office of Racial Equity in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles City Council has unanimously approved an initiative calling for the creation of an in the city of Los Angeles. The office would work to eliminate structural barriers and ensure opportunity and resources are fairly and justly distributed so all Angelenos are treated equitably, empowered, and can fully participate in the city’s democratic processes. The motion was co-introduced by council president Herb Wesson, Councilmembers Mitch O’Farrell and Marqueece Harris-Dawson, and seconded by Councilmember Paul Koretz.

“When this government was created it was not created to benefit people who looked like me,” said council president Wesson. “I am proud that in one of my final acts as the first Black council president, we as a council acknowledge the city’s role of structural and institutional racism and its role in righting those wrongs with an Office of Racial Equity (ORE) that looks out for all Angelenos.”

The passage of this motion comes on the heels of a month-long phase of the embRACE LA initiative that has engaged community members through 150+ city-wide conversations about race and racism. The initiative was developed by Wesson and O’Farrell and led by Community Coalition, a grassroots social justice organization in South Los Angeles. This fall, dinners were held with the help of producing partners Advancement Project and Revolve Impact with the purpose of bringing together Angelenos to have conversations about racism and racial equity in the city of Los Angeles. The information discussed in these conversations was collected with the goal of using this data to help establish the new office.

In surveys about the state of racial equity in Los Angeles, just 21.5% of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the city is an equitable and inclusive place to live for people of all races and ethnicities. 85% said that they supported establishing an ORE.

“This focus on fairness and equity will matter to all demographic groups that have been historically discriminated against, including Native Americans and members of our transgender community, who have also faced incredible impediments to equal opportunity and fairness in all aspects of mainstream society,” said Councilmember O’Farrell. “Today, the work that Herb Wesson and I started years ago takes an important step, and the city will staff an office to keep us focused on making sure that we incorporate equity and opportunity into our overall approach as policymakers.”

The ORE would formalize the city’s commitment to addressing systemic racial disparities. The office would have a number of duties, including working to repair harms from previous policies that created, upheld or exacerbated racial disparities, and correcting disparate outcomes seen in areas such as education, employment, wealth, housing and health. The ORE would analyze city policy and programs for the potential effects on various communities and consult with city departments to establish plans to address racial disparities within individual departments throughout the city.

“Creating the Office of Racial Equity is a critical step towards acknowledging and remediating the effects of racial bias in Los Angeles city policies,” said Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson. “Disparities across housing, education, wealth, employment, and health are not accidental. They are the result of historic and systemic factors including biased and discriminatory government decisions, policies, and practices targeting racial and socioeconomic minorities. I’m proud to introduce this motion and stand with my colleagues committed to creating a more equitable city and hope the Office of Racial Equity will inspire similar endeavors from other legislators.”

“Today marks a renewed commitment by the city of Los Angeles to proactively advance racial justice,” said Alberto Retana, president & CEO of Community Coalition. “This vote is the culmination of citizens coming together throughout the city to talk with one another, share their experiences and look for viable ways to address inequity.”

The motion passed with a 14-0 vote. The next step will be for the chief legislative analyst and the city administrative officer to develop a study on the steps necessary to create the Office of Racial Equity, consulting with community partners and with the embRACE LA initiative. The report will also include an analysis of the staffing and budget required from the 2020-21 Fiscal Year Budget.

Kamala Harris Ends White House Bid, Citing Lack of Funding

Sen. Kamala Harris told supporters on Tuesday that she was ending her bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, an abrupt close to a candidacy that held historic potential.
“I’ve taken stock and looked at this from every angle, and over the last few days have come to one of the hardest decisions of my life,” the California Democrat said. “My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue.”
A senior campaign aide said Harris made the decision Monday after discussing the path forward with family and other top officials over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Her withdrawal marked a dramatic fall for a candidate who showed extraordinary promise in her bid to become the first black female president.
The first woman and first black attorney general and U.S. senator in California’s history, she was widely viewed as a candidate poised to excite the multiracial coalition of voters that sent Barack Obama to the White House.
Her departure erodes the diversity of the Democratic field, which is dominated at the moment by a top tier that is white and mostly male.
“She was an important voice in the race, out before others who raised less and were less electable. It’s a loss not to have her voice in the race,” said Aimee Allison, who leads She the People, a group that promotes women of color.