Ready to Rise Panel at Left Coast Forum
This month, KBLA Talk 1580 and the LA Progressive teamed up to host the Left Coast Forum, an unapologetically progressive educational experience, featuring a lively plenary panel discussion on Liberty Hill’s Ready to Rise initiative!
Co-hosted by KBLA’s Tavis Smiley and LA Progressive’s Dick Price and Sharon Kyle, this year’s forum featured keynote presentations by Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove and renowned thought-leaders Dr. Cornel West and Progressor Richard Wolff, as well as panel sessions sponsored by a range of progressive activist groups, addressing the key issues impacting our country today.
In a meaningful discussion with community activists and our Youth Justice grantee partners, Liberty Hill’s “Ready to Rise: Shaping the Future of Youth Justice in LA” panel explored the incredible work that frontline leaders and community-rooted organizations are doing to build systems of healing and offer opportunity for our young people.
In a fast-changing policy landscape, Ready to Rise is creating a future that focuses on care and liberation rather than punishment. The conversation showcased how important community initiatives like Ready to Rise are in shifting the dominant narrative—from Los Angeles being seen as the largest punishment system for youth i the nation to becoming a model for community-centered, care-first investments.
We were thrilled to have our Ready to Rise partners join the discussion, including Mario Fedelin, Chief Executive Officer of Changeist; Kruti Parekh, Director of Development & Training at the Youth Justice Coalition; Shanae Sharon, Executive Director of Street Poets; and Angela Johnson Peters, National Director of Programs at the Social Justice Learning Institute.
The discussion was moderated by Diego Bravo, Liberty Hill Program Director for Ready to Rise.
Under the theme, “Resist,” this year’s forum was the culmination of the partnership’s civic engagement series designed to foster community and provide a platform for progressive thought, opinion, and perspectives on current events.
