By Shane Goldsmith, President/CEO Liberty Hill Foundation

By Karen Driscoll

What are we thankful for this Thanksgivukkah? Let us count the many things we fought hard for and won in 2013.

These are bittersweet days as Kafi D. Blumenfield prepares her departure as President and CEO. Shane Murphy Goldsmith, just back from maternity leave, will be stepping into the role December 1, 2013.

"Every Student Matters" rally in Long Beach. Photo by Warren Hill.

By Blanch Ross

On October 8, 2013, the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) passed a resolution to end the practice of using suspensions and expulsions as disciplinary actions.

She’s a 2013 White House Champion for Change, but Catherine
Eusebio stretches her nonprofit salary by living with her parents. An undaunted
Dreamer, she’s building a career with the help of the immigrant rights
community and a community service stipend from the Bertha Wolf-Rosenthal
Foundation Fund.

An amazing five of the people in attendance at the Liberty Hill Commissions training are now sitting members of a City, County or State commission.

L.A. Voice Pico members at signing of AB60

(Long Beach)  Tonight, the Long Beach Unified School District passed a resolution to promote positive alternatives to exclusionary school discipline by a unanimous vote.  The resolution urges LBUSD schools to provide alternatives to suspensions and expulsions by expanding Restorative Justice programs that support all students in becoming healthy, thriving adults.

Liberty Hill is pleased to announce that once again this year, we're a sponsor of Green Festival L.A.

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield addressed the Liberty Hill Commissions Training program offered by our Wally Mark Leadership Institute in June 2013 and offered five pithy pieces of advice to would-be commissioners.

This Liberty Hill Foundation allocated $984,000 to 33 outstanding community organizing groups working on economic, environmental and LGBT justice.

Here’s the monthly round-up of links to some of the news media stories about Liberty Hill and our grantees.

The positive environment at Rolland Curtis Gardens only exists because David Mosley and his neighbors fought a long, intensive community campaign to preserve the complex’s long-held status as affordable housing when a developer tried to force tenants out.

No, You're not imagining things: You did just hear Liberty Hill on KPCC 89.3 FM!

As always, we are eager to spread the word about social justice, and we are hoping that these provocative shorts on KPCC will help us do it.

Liberty Hill's September 8, 2013 "Change L.A." party with a purpose is right around the corner.

This summer, Liberty Hill Foundation has had a full complement of six student interns working with us to advance environmental and economic justice, to expand LGBTQ rights, and to combat poverty.

It takes a village to advance movements for change, and Liberty Hill's  Community Media Partners and our Leader Sponsors are an integral part of our work to support grassroots organizing in L.A. As supporters of September 8's "Change L.A." party with a purpose, these businesses and organizations are helping get the word out about this terrific event.

FRONTLINES TO HEADLINES: News about Liberty Hill grantees!!

Liberty Hill Foundation is pleased to announce the 2012-2013 grant recipients of the Queer Youth Fund.

These bright young students are voluntarily dedicating their break to the four-week Summer Institute offered by Pacoima Beautiful, a 16 year-old community-based organization that is one of the anchor organizations behind the innovative “Clean Up, Green Up” environmental justice campaign that Liberty Hill has long supported.

Byline: Kafi D. Blumenfield

Sorrow. Pain. Dismay. Discouragement. Anger. That describes the tone of conversations in our office this week about the not guilty verdict in the murder trial of George Zimmerman. The trial illustrates the depths of racial tensions in America and how profoundly they affect us all.

A monthly round-up of news stories about Liberty Hill Foundation grantee organizations.

Angelenos share histories and political memories in video interviews shot and compiled by Julie Thompson and Brogan De Paor, creators of the Los Angeles Activist Video Archive and longtime Liberty Hill supporters.

iberty Hill Foundation’s Board of Directors has named Shane Murphy Goldsmith as the next President and CEO of the Foundation.

Byline: Barbara Osborn

On June 19, the Los Angeles City Council voted 12-0 to research, analyze and draft "Clean Up Green Up" policy recommendations for three pilot areas of the city: Pacoima, Boyle Heights, and Wilmington.

We checked in on Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project's “Filmmaker Training Program,” which received a multiyear grant from Liberty Hill Foundation’s Queer Youth Fund in 2009.

From frontlines to headlines! Take a look at recent news of Liberty Hill grantees.

In May, there was extensive media coverage of Liberty
Hill Foundation’s work through its two Common Agenda campaigns. Below
are links to (1) an organization profile focused on our environmental

By Rabbi Heather Miller, a Liberty Hill 2013 Leader to Watch

By Blanch Ross

Grantee Spotlight
Periodically, Liberty Hill makes recommendations of exceptionally timely philanthropic opportunities for our donor advised account holders. This time we are recommending two of our Fund for Change grant recipients, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment and Restaurant Opportunities Center.

the Los Angeles Unified School District adopted the School Climate Bill of Rights by a vote of 5 to 2. Approval of the resolution bans “willful defiance” suspensions and directs LAUSD to enact common sense approaches to school discipline and expand programs that support all students in becoming healthy, thriving adults.

Liberty Hill is offering a Commissions Training Program to ensure that appointees to Los Angeles commissions are drawn from diverse communities and can help civic leaders make good decisions for all communities.

(Los Angeles) Hundreds of youth, parents and community leaders will descend on LAUSD headquarters to demand the passage of the School Climate Bill of Rights—a resolution that would enact common sense approaches to school discipline and expand programs that support all students in becoming healthy, thriving adults. If passed, the landmark proposal would ban “willful defiance” suspensions from LA schools -- a first for a major school district.

This opinion piece was written in support of the proposed "School Climate Bill of Rights," the first campaign of Liberty Hill Foundation's Brothers, Sons, Selves initiative..

The Brothers, Sons, Selves initiative is involved in an important event this Friday, May 10, 2013. Here is the advisory for this event.