Standing in Solidarity and Calling for Action
Community gardeners at Fellowship Garden of Love in Willowbrook, CA
Regardless of the color of your skin, income or zip code, we all deserve access to safe parks and vibrant and peaceful communities.
But we know far too well that for communities of color, that promise has fallen short. It is why the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust was founded in 2002 to address LA’s park inequities in communities that have little to no access to green space. For so long, Black, brown, Asian and other communities of color have carried a disproportionate burden of illness, violence, pollution and many other related injustices.
And now with the wave of deaths from COVID-19 and ongoing police violence targeting Black lives, we are writing to reaffirm our solidarity with Black and brown communities here in Los Angeles and around the country.
Our work at the Land Trust focuses on building power and greening communities in order to reverse the historic underinvestment and simultaneous placement of polluting industries. But our work can only thrive in concert with our partners who are challenging the very institutions that permit and further these inequities.
Please consider taking action to support organizations working on the ground to address structural racism, including deep-seated societal notions of anti-Blackness, and the resulting health inequities and violence:
Read, research and understand your role and the role of systems within society that perpetuate violence and oppression and how it impacts the health and safety of communities. A great place to start is the South LA is the Future Movement Building Report developed by the California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities Collaborative. South Central Rooted - Final Report
Participate and engage by calling your policymakers and asking them to direct funding to support healthy communities for all. Communities with safe, beautiful parks, safe, clean air and water, well-funded schools, affordable housing and health care.
Donate - Not only to the Neighborhood Land Trust but also to other local, LA-based organizations and partners working to address systemic inequalities and build power within communities right here in Los Angeles. Though not a complete list, some examples include: Community Coalition, SCOPE, Trust South LA.
The Land Trust was founded on an equitable vision for LA – a vision that is only possible when all communities are safe and healthy. The only way to achieve this vision is to deliberately work to dismantle decades of entrenched racism and inequality. We thank you for your support and ask you to find a way to take action.
In memory of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and the countless others whose names we may never know.
The Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust Board and Staff