Activist Round Table Discussion

As part of On the Ground LA, Art Share LA will be hosting a round table discussion moderated by Di Barbadillo with LA activists from Black Lives Matter – Los Angeles, People’s City Council, and Centro CSO.

Advance RSVP is suggested due to capacity. Or join on zoom 9103444651

Tickets: Free. Suggested donation $10 for members, $15 for non-members, or make a donation directly to our participants. Read more about our sliding scale pricing model here.

12:00 PM: Doors Open

1:00 PM: Round Table discussion Art Share’s Theater

Black Lives Matter – Los Angeles. Los Angeles is the first chapter to form in what is now the global network. Organizers who are among the original members of Black Lives Matter poured into the streets on July 13, 2013, the day that George Zimmerman was acquitted in the murder of Trayvon Martin. Thousands of folks initially gathered in Leimert Park and the Crenshaw District, then engaged in intuitive organizing, shutting down spaces that represented White supremacy, like the Expo train line, the 10 freeway, Hollywood & Highland, and USC. Three days into the organic eruption, folks were called together by Patrisse Cullors, who had been in conversation with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi about how to build a “movement not a moment.” On July 15, 2013, roughly 30 organizers gathered in the courtyard of St. Elmo’s Village, a historic Black artist community, and committed our lives to the Black freedom struggle, adopting a womanist/Black nationalist framework, with a queer and trans lens.

Centro CSO. ​​Centro CSO organizes for the rights of the undocumented, quality public education, and supporting, in solidarity, other communities seeking social justice. / Centro CSO organiza para los derechos de los indocumentados, para educación pública, de calidad, y apoya en solidaridad, otras comunidades en busca de la justicia social.

People’s City Council (PCC). People’s City Council is a collective of LA-based organizers focused on fighting back against the white supremacist power structure in Los Angeles. PCC is involved in the People’s Budget LA coalition, the Check the Sheriff coalition, and the Services Not Sweeps coalition. Also, Google LASDgangs.

Moderated by Diana Barbadillo

Bios

Di Barbadillo is a community organizer who works alongside Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, the Check the Sheriff Coalition, the Services not Sweeps coalition, and the Philippines-US Solidarity Organization (PUSO SoCal). In addition, she is the Chair of the Legal Observer Committee for the National Lawyers Guild LA Chapter. Di was born and raised in Los Angeles, and is second-generation Filipina-American. She went to college at UCLA and law school at The University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.

Melina Abdullah is Professor of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles and immediate past Department Chair. Dr. Abdullah earned her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California in Political Science and her B.A. from Howard University in African American Studies. She is a recognized expert on race, gender, class, and social movements. Abdullah is the author of numerous scholarly articles and book chapters, with subjects ranging from political coalition building to womanist mothering. She has also contributed to popular media outlets, including The North Star, The Root, Los Angeles Times, Truthdig, Los Angeles Sentinel, Los Angeles Progressive, and BK Nation.

Carlos M. Montes is a nationally respected leader in the Chicano, immigrant rights, and anti-war movements. He was a co-founder of the Brown Berets, a Chicano working class organization in the United States in the late 1960s and 1970s. The Brown Berets were inspired by and often compared to the Black Panther Party. Montes was one of the leaders of the ELA Chicano Blowouts, a series of walkouts of East Los Angeles high schools to protest against racism and inequality in Los Angeles-area high schools. He is portrayed by Fidel Gomez in the 2006 HBO movie Walkout. He is one of the ELA 13 indicted by Grand Jury for conspiracy to disrupt LAUSD. With Brown Berets Carlos organized the first Chicano Moratorium on December 20, 1969 protest against the Vietnam war in East LA.

Ricci Sergienko is a co-founder of People’s City Council, agitator and memeologist.