May 11, 2023

By Brian W. Carter

Contributing Writer

 

Los Angeles County Metro­politan Transportation Authority (Metro) CEO Stephanie Wiggins is busy. Going on two years as Metro CEO, it’s a good kind of busy with a lot of accomplishments and improvements.

 

Some of those accomplishments include the opening of the K (aka Crenshaw) Line six months ago. 

While the line still has not fully opened, the ridership is steady and the line has had low-to-little security issues. 

 

Along the Crenshaw Corridor, Wiggins also implemented Metro’s Business Interruption Fund, which has helped small businesses both during construction and through post-construction not only survive, but thrive, awarding 917 grants to 239 small “mom and pop” businesses along the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Project.

Recently, the Metro board extended the Launch of the GoPass pilot program for another year. This will usher in a new generation of transit riders and ensure that students get to school without having to worry about cost. Metro also launched the LIFE program that provides free rides to vulnerable customers.

Wiggins is dedicated to improving the overall experience for transit riders. The Metro Ambassador Pilot Program is one of the improvements that she believes is creating a better experience for all.

“The Metro Ambassador Pilot Program is part of our continuing effort to improve the transit rider’s experience and it’s part of our multi-layered approach to safety, which includes ambassadors, social service outreach teams, private security, transit security officers, and contracted law enforcement partners,” said Wiggins.

“Our pilot program is one of the largest ─ if not the largest ─ program of its kind in the U.S. transit industry.”

In March, Metro announced 300, newly trained, Metro Ambassadors and has since been deployed along certain routes of the Metro Rail System which include the K (Crenshaw) Line with expansion to the A Line (Blue), B and D Lines (Red, Purple), and L Line (Gold), as well as Bus Line 20, 720, 40, 210 and the J Line (Silver).

“About three years ago, we created the Public Safety Advisory Committee made up of members of the public, to help us design a safer Metro system for all our riders,” said Wiggins.

“We spoke to riders, who told us what they wanted to see: unarmed uniformed personnel riding the system, aiding customers by answering questions and helping navigate the system and we listened.

“As a result, the Metro Ambassa­dor pilot program was created.”

“Our main goal is to provide customers with an enhanced customer service experience,” said Metro Ambassador Kevin Pegues. “Throughout my shift, I’m riding the trains and buses, answering customers’ questions, and talking to riders to better understand what their needs are.”

Born and raised in South L.A., Kevin Pegues found out about the ambassador program through a friend. He is currently studying to become an alcohol and drug counselor. He shared being a Metro Ambassador is also his way of giving back and helping the community.

“After talking to my friend and learning more about the role and responsibilities, I knew I was a good fit,” said Pegues.

“I’ve had previous customer service experience and I’ve also been a case manager helping with housing the homeless, and I’ve worked in treatment as a manager/specialist, so this was an easy role for me to move into.”

The safety of the customers and employees is a top priority to Metro. Wiggins shared that the Metro Ambassadors are an important part of the customer experience. Their presence not only keeps riders safe but, provides invaluable feedback to Metro.

“They are extra eyes and ears on the system to quickly identify problems and notify the appropriate resource so we can have the right response to an issue whether it be cleanliness, repairs, people needing assistance – or even saving lives -- or a security issue,” said Wiggins.

“Our Metro Ambassadors are diverse. They live in the neighborhoods Metro serves. All of them have either lived or have had personal experiences with the types of challenges our Metro customers face. They see and experience everything our riders do daily, so they’re best equipped to be available to our riders should they have questions,” she explained.

“When there are more eyes around, people will kind of stop doing what they are doing,” said Metro Ambassador Takiesha Harper.

“You have to understand, with the high crime, rising drug abuse, homelessness, all of those things, we look to be a presence,” Harper said.

Public feedback has been positive as Metro Ambassadors have helped report sexual harassment, criminal activity and other issues of key importance. Metro has stated riders appreciate the presence of the Metro Ambassadors helping customers navigate the system, and on several occasions, have helped summon emergency medical assistance for riders in distress.

 

“We’re receiving overwhelming positive feedback from our riders and the community about the Metro Ambassadors,” said Wiggins.

“From seniors to parents to students, our customers are telling us they not only appreciate having the uniformed Ambassadors out on the system and in our stations but also that they appreciate the help they provide in terms of explaining the system and being able to answer questions,” she noted.

“What I enjoy most about being a Metro Ambassador is that it has allowed me to have direct contact with the public,” said Pegues. “This role gives me an opportunity to give back to those in my city.”

Pegues continued, “I’ve been able to help turn someone’s day around or it’s because of my assistance that I’ve helped someone get to where they need to be.”

So far, so good it seems as Wiggins is helping to build a better Metro, one connected to its community.

 

As a member of the community, she wants to make sure Metro is a transit system that reflects her.

She hopes to continue building a Metro that everyone can see themselves in. “The progress we have made towards making Metro a customer-focused organization,” said Wiggins.

“That includes listening to our customers and implementing programs we know will improve their lives.”

Category: News

May 11, 2023

By Sophie Austin

Associated Press/Report for America

 

California's reparations task force voted Saturday to approve recommendations on how the state may compensate and apologize to Black residents for generations of harm caused by discriminatory policies.

The nine-member committee, which first convened nearly two years ago, gave final approval at a meeting in Oakland to a hefty list of proposals that now go to state lawmakers to consider for reparations legislation.

U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, who is cosponsoring a bill in Congress to study restitution proposals for African Americans, at the meeting called on states and the federal government to pass reparations legislation.

 

"Reparations are not only morally justifiable, but they have the potential to address longstanding racial disparities and inequalities," Lee said.

The panel's first vote approved a detailed account of historical discrimination against Black Californians in areas such as voting, housing, education, disproportionate policing and incarceration and others.

Other recommendations on the table ranged from the creation of a new agency to provide services to descendants of enslaved people to calculations on what the state owes them in compensation.

"An apology and an admission of wrongdoing just by itself is not going to be satisfactory," said Chris Lodgson, an organizer with the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California, a reparations advocacy group.

An apology crafted by lawmakers must "include a censure of the gravest barbarities" carried out on behalf of the state, according to the draft recommendation approved by the task force.

Those would include a condemnation of former Gov. Peter Hardeman Burnett, the state's first elected governor and a white supremacist who encouraged laws to exclude Black people from California.

After California entered the union in 1850 as a "free" state, it did not enact any laws to guarantee freedom for all, the draft recommendation notes. On the contrary, the state Supreme Court enforced the federal Fugitive Slave Act, which allowed for the capture and return of runaway enslaved people, until for over a decade until emancipation.

"By participating in these horrors, California further perpetuated the harms African Americans faced, imbuing racial prejudice throughout society through segregation, public and private discrimination, and unequal disbursal of state and federal funding," the document says.

The task force approved a public apology acknowledging the state's responsibility for past wrongs and promising the state will not repeat them. It would be issued in the presence of people whose ancestors were enslaved.

California has previously apologized for placing Japanese Americans in internment camps during World War II and for violence against and mistreatment of Native Americans.

The panel also approved a section of the draft report saying reparations should include "cash or its equivalent" for eligible residents.

More than 100 residents and advocates gathered at Mills College of Northeastern University in Oakland, a city that is the birthplace of the Black Panther Party. They shared frustrations over the country's "broken promise" to offer up to 40 acres and a mule to newly freed enslaved people.

Many said it is past time for governments to repair the harms that have kept African Americans from living without fear of being wrongfully prosecuted, retaining property and building wealth.

Elaine Brown, former Black Panther Party chairwoman, urged people to express their frustrations through demonstrations.

Saturday's task force meeting marked a crucial moment in the long fight for local, state and federal governments to atone for discriminatory polices against African Americans.

The proposals are far from implementation, however.

 

"There's no way in the world that many of these recommendations are going to get through because of the inflationary impact," said Roy L. Brooks, a professor and reparations scholar at the University of San Diego School of Law.

Some estimates from economists have projected that the state could owe upwards of $800 billion, or more than 2.5 times its annual budget, in reparations to Black people.

The figure in the latest draft report released by the task force is far lower. The group has not responded to email and phone requests for comment on the reduction.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a former Democratic assemblymember, authored legislation in 2020 creating the task force with a focus on the state's historical culpability for harms against African Americans, and not as a substitute for any additional reparations that may come from the federal government.

The task force voted previously to limit reparations to descendants of enslaved or free Black people who were in the country by the end of the 19th century.

 

The group's work has garnered nationwide attention, as efforts to research and secure reparations for African Americans elsewhere have had mixed results.

The Chicago suburb of Evanston, for example, has offered housing vouchers to Black residents but few have benefited from the program so far.

In New York, a bill to acknowledge the inhumanity of slavery in the state and create a commission to study reparations proposals has passed the Assembly but not received a vote in the Senate.

And on the federal level, a decades-old proposal to create a commission studying reparations for African Americans has stalled in Congress.

Oakland city Councilmember Kevin Jenkins called the California task force's work "a powerful example" of what can happen when people work together.

"I am confident that through our collective efforts, we can make a significant drive in advancing reparations in our great state of California and ultimately the country," Jenkins said.

Category: News

May 04, 2023

By Danny J. Bakewell, Jr.

Executive Editor

 

The Los Angeles Urban League will host the Annual Whitney M. Young Awards Gala on Thursday, May 18, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

This year’s honorees include Paula Madison, CEO of Madison Entertainment Group, who will receive the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Award.  Martin Muoto, founder and managing partner of SOLA Impact Fund, will receive the Trailblazer Award, and Sekou Kaalund, executive vice president at U.S. Bank, will receive the Corporate Partner Award.

The keynote speaker will be Bishop T.D. Jakes, world renowned spiritual leader and chairman and CEO of the T.D. Jakes Group.

The event will be co-hosted by news anchors Chris Schauble and Megan Telles. Denee Benton, Tony Award nominee singer and actress, will provide the evening’s entertainment.

 

 

The event, which has been sold out for weeks, is the Urban League’s major fundraiser of the year.  The John Mack Premiere Sponsors include The Smidt Foundation, First Citizens Bank and U.S. Bank.

 

This year’s gala will be of special significance since current president/CEO, the Honorable Michael Lawson, announced last week that he will be stepping down as the leader of the organization at the end of the year.

 

In 2018, Michael Lawson stepped in to turn the organization around and in his fivwe years at the helm, he has done a remarkable of restoring the faith, confidence and viability of the organization.  When Lawson arrived at LAUL, the organization was facing escalating deficits, decreasing revenues, and a shortage of talent.

 

 

 

He engineered a turnaround that prioritized the needs of underserved communities and provided funders with a trustworthy steward and a bold vision for making a difference in the lives and communities of African Americans throughout Los Angeles. 

 

 

The budget was balanced within three years and the organization became, once again, a driver of change, a community connection for jobs and resources, and a powerful voice against injustice and economic inequity.

 

 

 

 

 

“Michael Lawson had done an amazing job of stewarding the Urban League back into viability and by doing so has given both corporate partners and community residents confidence that the organization is here to lead for the betterment of our community and will continue to be at the forefront of economic empowerment now and into future,” said Danny J. Bakewell, Sr., chairman and CEO of Bakewell Media and board chairman of the Los Angeles Brotherhood Crusade.

 

The Los Angeles Urban League helps African American and others in underserved communities achieve their highest true social parity, economic self-reliance, power and civil rights. 

The league promotes economic empowerment through education and job training, housing and community development, workforce development, entrepreneurship, health, and quality of life.

Category: News

May 04, 2023

LAWT News Service

 

Generations of Los Angeles musicians have had a global impact on popular music, from rock to punk, pop to jazz, and hip hop to Latin.

One of them is the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra — also known as P.A.P.A. or the Ark — the legendary Black music collective that was formed in 1961 and is still thriving today. Horace Tapscott, the Ark’s founder, died in 1999, but UCLA Library has, for decades, helped preserve manuscripts, arrangements and recordings from his personal archive.

The collection, which was donated to UCLA Library in 2003 by Tapscott’s wife, Cecilia Tapscott, is in the spotlight now thanks to a slate of upcoming projects. 

June will see the release of an Ark retrospective album — which includes three tracks drawn from the UCLA archive — and an exhibition and concert are being planned for later this year. In addition, a recent grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foun­dation will enable UCLA Library preservationists to digitize and preserve 230 audio recordings in the collection beginning this summer.

A leader in the Los Angeles jazz scene, Tapscott was a composer and pianist who played with renowned musicians and bands, including, from 1959 to 1961, the percussionist and bandleader Lionel Hampton.

But in 1961 at the age of 28, disillusioned with commercial music, Tapscott stepped away from Hampton’s band and formed the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra. The group was intended in part to preserve and nurture Black music and musicians, and to build community in South Central Los Angeles. And through its six decades, it has done that — and more.

Among the Los Angeles artists inspired by the Ark are Freestyle Fellowship and saxophonist and composer Kamasi Washington, who is an Ark member.

"Horace Tapscott's music was so powerful,” said Washington, who attended UCLA from 1999 to 2004. “The sound felt like it healed spirits instead of people, especially when performed live. It’s important that this music is preserved and shared, that the Ark lives on and keeps that tradition."

Dalena Hunter, a UCLA librarian and archivist for the Los Angeles Communities and Cultures program, which includes the Tapscott archive, said the collection illustrates the continued power and relevance of even the Ark’s earliest work.

“The recordings and musical scores in Tapscott’s collection provide us with an example of the genius, ingenuity and pride that Black musicians during that period brought to their work,” she said. “The fact that the Ark is still active after all these decades shows what Tapscott initiated is still needed, as Black folks continue to navigate attacks against Black history, culture and Black people themselves.”

On June 16, a compilation featuring music from every stage of the band’s history — including previously unreleased material from the UCLA Library collection — will be released by the Ark-focused label The Village, which was co-founded by Samuel Lamontagne, a UC Chancellor’s postdoctoral scholar in history at UCLA, along with Mekala Session, the Ark’s current leader, as well as Sam Lee, Jesse Justice and Ajay Ravi.

“Since its inception, the Ark has emphasized the value of community and political consciousness in relation to Black arts and culture, especially in South Central, where communities have been impacted by anti-Black racism for generations,” said Lamontagne, who earned a doctorate in ethnomusicology from UCLA in 2022. “As a member of The Village, and also as a scholar, my role is to be a bridge between UCLA as an institution and the larger Arkestra community, in order to ensure that UCLA remains accountable to the community first and foremost.”

T-Kay Sangwand, librarian for digital collection development, is working with The Village to organize an exhibition featuring materials from the Tapscott collection that will accompany a concert later this year. Sangwand, who also works as a DJ, hosts a monthly audio program called The Archive of Feelings. It was through that project that she was introduced to the Ark’s music.

“As a member of L.A.’s music community, I’ve long admired and respected the Ark’s ethos and work,” Sangwand said. “It’s been an honor to bridge these music and archive worlds through collaborating with The Village on resurfacing some of the materials from the Tapscott archives to celebrate the Ark’s legacy.”

The 230 recordings being digitized by UCLA preservationists include outtakes from Ark rehearsals and studio sessions, as well as performances at South Los Angeles schools, parks, prisons and festivals. Many were originally recorded on open-reel audio tapes that are now deteriorating due to age and environmental factors.

“Our team is committed to preserving the Ark community’s rich legacy in support of long-term access to this vibrant record of Black life in Los Angeles," said Yasmin Dessem, head of audiovisual preservation at UCLA Library. “We are deeply grateful to the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation for supporting this important work.”

The UCLA Library Music Library is also engaged in preserving the Ark’s impact through the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra Composers Score Book Series and Composers recording project. Initiated in 2021 and supported by the Hugo and Christine Davise Fund for Contemporary Music, the project will result in the publication of music scores by prominent Ark composers, as well as supporting new recordings of music by Tapscott, as well as Jesse Sharps, Ernest Straughter and Lester Robertson.

Session, who has led the Ark since 2018, said the preservation work has been enormously valuable even to the band itself.

“I can read a score created by Tapscott or listen to a recording from his archive and the audio could be from a piece that I've never heard, by a composer I've never heard of — a reel-to-reel that was going during a practice in the 1970s or ’80s, a song that may have been performed twice,” he said. “Our current band can learn and perform that song and the elder members can tell us about that composer.”

“The Ark is made up of over 60 years of a musical breath that will continue to expand throughout generations, because all of our members are passionate about keeping the Ark’s musical power strong.”

Category: News

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