Announcement 🎉 🚨I’M HONORED TO SHARE I HAVE BEEN ASKED TO JOIN THE BOARD OF @launitedway ‼️Some words: My earliest memory of living in South Central LA was living in camper. No, not a fully functional recreational vehicle (RV) we traveled in for fun across the country. A camper, a small and humid living space where at the time 4 of us resided. My uncle Salvador did what he could to give us shelter while my parents got on their feet. I was five years old. I would never describe that as being properly housed and thriving, not by a long shot. I attended all the community schools, 66th, Edison M.S, and Horace Mann M.S. During which time, my community went through deindustrialization, massive black unemployment, severe immigrant labor exploitation, a civil unrest in 92’ and a subsequent crack epidemic… let’s just say I saw a lot of things as child. In 1999 I began my student career at Fremont High School in South Central L.A. If I remember correctly, 4700 students, 30-40 percent graduation rate (12th grade class, not cumulative 4 years) and we were the 3rd lowest testing high school in the state of California. Not 100% percent sure how, but I made it to UCLA. It took a village to get me to where I am today. Housing, education, and economic mobility are at the core of factors in one reaching that ever elusive America dream. Having now the privilege to live a substantially different quality of life as an adult, I understand my duty to pay it forward. It is why I felt this picture from our United Way Centennial event last Monday was appropriate for this post. It feels like I won a Superbowl trophy of my own, to get to where I am and be asked to join a highly respected and deeply impactful organization like United Way of Greater Los Angeles is amazing. My hope on the board is twofold; make sure we get in involved in more progressive fights and put our money where our mouth is. Second, make equity the prime objective on our respective issue fronts: education, housing and economic mobility. Yes, we have a lot of corporate leaders on the board, yes it will be tough to move them sometimes. ¡Pero venimos a echarle ganas y triunfar! We’ve come to far, to not do a lot more. (at South Central LA) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd7LVvbrCcL/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
