When President Barack Obama officially announced earlier this month that several low-income Los Angeles neighborhoods would be eligible for grants as part of his Promise Zone poverty initiative, it caused a great deal of concern because none of the areas selected were in South L.A.
Los Angeles’ Promise Zone covers parts of East Hollywood, Hollywood, Pico-Union, Westlake and Koreatown. Part of Obama’s plan to help end poverty is to help funnel money to improve housing, public safety and education.
It’s possible that Los Angeles could receive up to nearly $500 million over the next 10 years, if grants are awarded. However, the city’s application didn’t include South L.A.
Angry South L.A. residents took to blame the most convenient target — newly elected Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
With so much misinformation being spread, I am simply choosing to deal with the facts. South L.A. nonprofit organizations did apply for Promise Zone funding in 2010. Sherri Franklin, one of our most trusted civic leaders, wrote a grant on behalf of the L.A. Urban League, Brotherhood Crusade, Community Coalition and more than 20 other social organizations.
Unfortunately, our community was late to the table. With roughly six weeks left in the process, Franklin did a tremendous job, but ultimately the entire effort fell short, due to the territorial nature of some of the leadership at the table.
The South L.A. coalition wasn’t able to put together and develop a synchronized service delivery model to create a memorandum of understanding and they refused to share information regarding funding distribution. They couldn’t create methodologies to integrate innovation and technology into each organization’s social delivery model so that change could occur.
When the South L.A. grant application was finally completed, two of our major African-American organizations simply decided they couldn’t work together. The Los Angeles Urban League lost funding from its Head Start program and the Crenshaw High School initiative plan started revealing significant and troubling issues.
That created a major road block because Crenshaw High School was the focal point of the previous grant application. The truth is African-American leaders didn’t have their acts together.
Going into the process, Franklin and the South L.A. coalition of groups knew that they were not likely to get funding in the first round because that funding was meant for startups. The goal was to get structured, get into the game and be ready for the next round of funding because that requires a web of integrated social and economic development programs and funding sources, which does not naturally exist in South L.A.
The facts are that it’s doubtful any organization would have been able to deliver many of the social services under this new Promise Zone request for proposals (RFP) given that the county defunded most of the South L.A. nonprofits and churches under its Department of Children and Family Services child welfare proposal. They gave money to outside agencies to provide services in our communities. Defunding is set to take place July 1.
The key to this is identifying organizations that have local resources and if that capacity is available they can be leveraged with federal dollars. Federal dollars require leveraging, collaborative reporting across several critical indicators, institutional innovation and the ability to demonstrate sustainability.
But in South L.A., we are losing local funding and capacity and are not able to effectively compete when it comes to social innovations. So the only way South L.A. can compete in the future is to begin to chart all sources of county and city funds and see how much is being managed by local organizations.
Structure our larger groups as lead agencies to go after funding with the help and support of all our elected officials that represent South L.A.
Sherri Franklin was the one who helped spearhead this grant effort and she was one of 339 applications. Ten million dollars were available for 20 communities at $500,000 each.
So, to her credit, she did the best she could because it was the community that helped her fail.
When people and elected officials attempt to shift the blame on to Mayor Garcetti, you can tell them what Sherri Franklin told me.
Mayor Garcetti is completely blameless.
But we are not. We have to demand that our elected officials and community organizations communicate and work together for the best interests of South L.A. That way we can compete successfully for federal funding that’s desperately needed in South L.A. and stop pointing the finger of blame at others.
Najee Ali, is a community activist and the author of “Raising Hell! A Life of an Activist.” He can be reached on Twitter at Najeeali@twitter.
Emma posted at 3:16 pm on Thu, Jan 23, 2014.
Why East Hollywood and Hollywood received Promise funding and South L.A. did not:
MILLENNIUM IS IN HOLLYWOOD AND EAST HOLLYWOOD
"Great news to hear from Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell that the EAST HOLLYWOOD Millennium Hollywood Central (Cap ) Park park is in the middle of one of President Barack Obama's Promise Zones....
Had a great time at last night's Friends of the Hollywood Central Park Gala at the Taglyan Cultural Complex at the --- table with tenants and friends! Great news to hear from Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell that the park is in the middle of one of President Barack Obama's Promise Zones that could receive federal funding!"
Ofcourse it will!
Garcetti sold his soul and Hollywood to Millennium. Millennium projects are in Hollywood (skyscrapers on Vine) and in East Hollywood (Millennium's Hollywood Cap Park) the 'Friends' of the East Hollywood project: Hollywood Chamber members(funded by Millennium..one of their biggest donors), Garcettioids, Millennium attorneys and Millennium advocates/lobbyists/employees(at least one involved with youth policy group too ).. have been to Washington for funding for Millennium's park. It is a NON PROFIT and eligible for Promise funding. Garcetti has gotten city council to fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars of OUR money for his boss's park. As we are told there is no money for street repairs or to upgrade our existing parks.
Most recently he got LaBonge and O'Farrell to request $575, 000 from Council for the EIR for the Park. They got it.
He himself, while still on city council got hundreds of thousands out of council for this park, as a non agendized secret item that they voted on.
Millennium bought The Hollywood Chamber, which has a PAC that helped O'Farrell and Garcetti get elected.
Millennium bought O'Farrell and Garcetti (kept him on city council for years) and Villaraigosa (two Mayoral terms) contributing to and helping them get elected.
Their Vine St. projects ofcourse are in Garcetti's old and O'Farrell's new district..CD13.
They are top of the list for money spent for lobbying projects..4 Million here in one year alone.
They have been here for six of seven years.
They contributed to Wendy Greuel campiagns and many other councilmembers past and present, as did their law firm, and threw money at many large orgs. that were opposed to their projects, until they withdrew their law suits (there are two remaining), and threw money at city departments so their Vine St. projects would get passed, now stalled due to state geologist findings of active fault line strands underneath which they all knew and had been warned about..Millennium funded Garcetti, the Millennium funded Plum Committee (Englander, Huizar and Reyes) were all told about the evidence but they scoffed at the evidence and dismissed it and passed projects through anyway... Millennium funded O'Farrell stood up on council floor, his first day there, and told everyone the projects were 'safe' as the state geologist letter warning them not to vote yet, that project building site may not be safe sat ignored on Wesson's desk.
O'Farrell did good for his boss who sat there smiling.
Currin Price did good for his big supporter, the Millennium funded Hollywood Chamber, as he speechified on council floor that day about how great massive Millennium on Vine is, and how good for the communities (over 30 orgs. and communities are suing!) and they all should follow him and vote for Millennium projects on Vine.
Maybe he did not know yet how deeply tied garcetti is to Millennium and that he will do all he can, even break laws, to get what Millennium wants, and what lengths he will go to for them.
South L.A never had a chance up against that cancer of corruption.
The dangerous Millennium Vine projects have been stalled since Dr. Parrish, the state geologist confirmed the active fault line strads underneath at a recent press conference downtown and the new fault line maps were unveiled.
So much for the projects being good for those communities, Mr. Price.
And not one word out of garcetti, who pushed Millennium projects trough at every level, and green lit many other projects in the dangerous area with no seismic studies so determined was ehe to get his developer funder's projects passed even if it places lives at risk.
many are now being called into question.
Many things submitted for Promise funds for those areas are also being called into question:
The possibility of falsifying POPULATION DATA, as he did in the now thrown out by a Judge illegal higher density Hollywood Community Plan, the 'developer dream plan' he manipulated the passing of to accommodate his big developer funder's projects..
The judge agreed with the three law suits against it and that the population predictions data made up to justify garcetti's higher density Hollywood Plan was 'wishful thinking'.... and still not one word out of garcetti as his baby is deemed illegal, as so many told him but he ignored everyone and got it passed for his developer funders in spite of the problems with it.
It has been thrown out..by a Judge who ruled in favor of the three law suits against it.
Garcetti refused to listen even to the city's own legal council.. the only recourse was suing..
There are also now questions about the CRIME stats submitted for Hollywood and East Hollywood to make them eligible for Promise funding.
These things should all be investigated.
Hard to believe Mr. Price had no idea that garcetti would bring home the bacon from Washington D.C. but that it would go to his big developer funder's areas and not South L.A.. since he himself is so in bed with The Hollywood Chamber..who is in bed with Millennium. And garcetti is in bed with both of them.
And was it really a surprise to him, that the day the Promise funding was announced that Millennium areas would be getting Promise funding while his area was snubbed?
Maybe he won't vote the way garcetti wants him on every item that crosses his desk as council members have always unanimously voted in favor of every item garcetti as ever wanted...
Maybe once the truth gets out, Mr. Price's constituents will think long and hard before they ever vote for him again.