As we approach one of the most consequential elections of our lifetimes, for Angelenos and Californians, there is so much more at stake than just who wins the U.S. Presidency. BLMLA has led the charge to unseat racist, disgraced Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León, who is up for reelection in the 14th District. In addition we have been fighting to prevent Nathan Hochman from assuming the District Attorney's Office as he threatens to undo years of progressive work. 

Hochman is a proponent of Proposition 36 which threatens to rollback major hardfought statewide judicial and carceral reforms won by our grassroots organizing efforts (so vote NO on 36!).  Even more, we have an opportunity to ban chattel slavery in the state by passing Proposition 6, and supporting housing for Angelenos by passing Measure A.

As we prepare to VOTE by next Tuesday, November 5th, we must also constantly ORGANIZE. TODAY AT 2:30PM we are mobilizing to oppose the appointment of Jim McDonnell as LAPD Chief at the City Council Public Safety Committee. When Mayor Bass named McDonnell as her pick for Chief, it demonstrated a betrayal of the community - which had chased him out of the Sheriff’s office in 2018. Organizing is key in advancing our own interests and holding elected officials accountable.

#VoteAndOrganize! 

For weeks now, BLMLA has been hitting the streets, canvassing against Kevin De Leon (KDL), the anti-Black, disgraced Los Angeles City Councilman who has the nerve to be running for reelection. In 2022, KDL was one of four Latinx “leaders” caught on tape saying despicable things about Black people, Indigenous folks, renters, and poor people as they conspired in a back room to diminish Black power. They compared former Councilman Mike Bonin’s Black toddler to a monkey, said the child needed a "beatdown," and referred to his openly gay father as "a little bitch." Kevin also derided Black protest, claiming we were nothing more than “25 Black people yelling.”
 

We were able to force the resignations of KDL’s co-conspirators, but Kevin refused to step down—despite national outcry and intense protest, including an 18-day encampment in front of his Eagle Rock home. Now, he’s running for reelection to the 14th District, campaigning on a platform of thinly-veiled anti-Blackness while pushing anti-poor policies that have contributed to the highest eviction and homelessness rates in the city.
 

We haven’t forgotten about Kevin! For the last three weeks, we’ve been canvassing the 14th District, informing residents about his terrible record. Last Wednesday, we showed up at his debate and stood in silent protest as he stoked anti-Black sentiment from the stage.
 

Join us! We’ll be at this Saturday’s debate and canvassing 14th District neighborhoods every Sunday. It's time to reclaim our power and build the future we deserve.

Our hearts are so very heavy as we mourn the theft of Imam Khaliifah Marcellus Williams’ life. Missouri Governor Mike Parson chose to push forward the execution of a Black man who, by virtually all accounts, was innocent of the crime for which he had been convicted. Both the state and United States Supreme Court refused to intervene and most mainstream elected officials and candidates stood silent. Each of them have the blood of an innocent and righteous Brother on their hands.

The people though…the people poured out all that we could. More than a million calls flooded Governor Parson’s office. Hundreds of thousands signed petitions. Clergy of all faiths gathered and prayed. Virtually every social justice organization spoke in one voice to #SaveMarcellus.

We know the death penalty to be racist and vile. We know that Marcellus Williams is not the first innocent Black man to be executed and he will not be the last as long as capital punishment continues. It is in his name that we redouble our efforts to abolish the death penalty and work to build a safer, free, and just world.

The ongoing struggle of Black labor is not just a footnote in the labor movement. Black labor built this nation. Our hands tilled its soil, constructed its cities, and powered its industries. Yet despite our indispensable contributions, we continue to bear the brunt of systemic oppression in every corner of the workforce.

Organized labor cannot claim to stand with workers while shirking any allegiance to Black workers. Nothing is more emblematic of this hypocrisy than the inclusion of police associations in the House of Labor, where their interests are in direct opposition to real workers. Police associations are not unions. Cops are armed agents of the state, meant to protect the ownership class. They are strike busters and violence doers, whose very founding is as slave catchers that put targets on the backs of Black people.

Black labor’s struggle is the labor movement’s unfinished work. If the movement truly wants to succeed, it must center our fight at the heart of its mission. We must end police associations, hold killer cops accountable, and never forget that the ultimate measure of the labor movement’s success is the health, safety, and prosperity of Black workers.