By: Elgin Nelson, Staff
Racism, bigotry, and homelessness in Los Angeles were preeminent topics at this year’s Days of Dialogue luncheon this past Saturday. A new dialogue series, Tackling Homelessness Through Collaboration, was announced as L.A. Black politicians gathered to examine the issues that affect their respective communities – and last year’s racist remarks from former L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez sparked the importance of this event.
“Having a dialogue is critical. Many times, we think we can solve these problems in a vacuum, but it takes real discussion. It’s collaborative events like these that provide the opportunity for us to make real change in our communities,” Sen. Steve Bradford (CA) said.
Avis Ridley-Thomas has served as Executive Director of Days of Dialogue since 2011 and explained how this year’s luncheon will help Los Angeles move forward as a city given its systemic racial issues surrounding bigotry and homelessness.
“This year’s event is so important because we are focusing on launching a new series. This new series tackles homelessness through collaboration because it seems that homelessness is so intractable to everybody. People are discussing it all the time but are we discussing it collectively?” Avis said.
The latest dialogue series aims to address the “75,000 Angelenos experiencing homelessness today.” It also looks to renew Measure H, a multi-million revenue stream designed to address homelessness. Team members on the new initiative also urged all faith-based organizations of all denominations and other social action organizations to pledge any resources.
In attendance at the luncheon was Mayor Karen Bass, who stressed the importance of this new initiative, “Days of Dialogue started almost 30 years ago, and it started at a time of particular turmoil in a city–and of course the number one issue that’s impacting black folk is homelessness, considering we are 8% of the population but 30% of the people living on the street. So, I think it’s a perfect time for it to start this,” Bass said.
Since 1995, Days of Dialogue has held events to tackle racial disparities among Los Angeles communities. It began with former Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas calling a meeting with “20 prophetic leaders and community activists to defuse escalating tensions from the O.J. Simpson case.” That meeting eventually gave birth to a non-profit, non-partisan organization that acts as a bridge between active dialogue and community engagement in tackling sensitive racial issues.
The first meeting for “Tackling Homelessness through Collaboration” will be held with Bishop and Mrs. Sylvester Washington at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church on Saturday, October 28th at 9:00 a.m.