Event Description

As the pandemic’s ripple effects continue, workforce issues are becoming increasingly urgent, and Black workers are especially vulnerable. Unemployment, underemployment, and unsafe conditions, compounded by systemic racism, have created a Black jobs crisis in Southern California. Across sectors, funders are hearing a need to support workers and workforce development efforts to ensure an equitable recovery: one that supports Black workers to secure quality jobs, resources, and elevate their standard of living and that of their families and communities. 

A new report from the UCLA Center for the Advancement of Racial Equity at Work uncovers challenges faced by Black workers during the pandemic. Join us to learn what recent research has shown, to hear stories directly from affected workers, and to explore fresh approaches to worker organizing, such as the Southern California Black Worker Hub for Regional Organizing. In 2020, the philanthropic community was vocal about the need to support Black lives; join us to continue this conversation and learn how funders can make a real, sustainable impact on Black communities.

The first 100 registrants will receive a $35 GrubHub gift card to support a Black-owned restaurant, courtesy of the Weingart Foundation.

Speakers

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Andrea Dudley

Program Participant, Inland Empire Black Worker Center

Originally from St Louis, with a background in mental health insurance, Andrea relocated to California after working various jobs to make ends meet. Andrea is independently raising her three children. She discovered her son was on the autism spectrum at the age of two, however, IHSS (In-Home Supportive Services) was not approved for him until the age of six. Meeting the specific needs of her child on the spectrum, caring for her other children, and providing for her family through underpaid employment opportunities was a tiresome journey. Andrea had no support system or guidance on how to navigate systems such as IHSS. The pandemic exacerbated this as community resources became canceled. Andrea, determined to be her own support system, turned to labor unions for services for her son. She also joined the Inland Empire Black Worker Center’s water industry pre-apprenticeship program. As a graduate, she’s gained the education, resource, and opportunity to obtain gainful employment. Andrea is looking forward to beginning a new career in an industry with a future.
A smiling photograph of Dr. Jasmine Hill.

Jasmine Hill

Assistant Professor of Public Policy, UCLA

Jasmine D. Hill is Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles. At UCLA, she teaches classes on racial inequality, social mobility, and the Black family. She is presently studying the startling rise of neoliberalism in Black communities and the impacts of the tech industry on Black workers. Jasmine’s scholarship has appeared in top-ranked academic journals like Social Problems, Teaching Sociology, The Journal of Cultural Economy, and in 2017 she co-edited Inequality in the 21st Century with David B. Grusky (Westview Press). Her scholarly contributions have been recognized by the American Sociological Association, the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, and the Stanford Center for the Comparative Study of Race & Ethnicity. She received her B.A. in Communication Studies from UCLA and she holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Stanford University.
Black male, 40 years old, black hair, brown eyes, low trimmed mustache and goatee.

Brian McNeil

Member/Leader, Los Angeles Black Worker Center

Long time member/leader of the Los Angeles Black Workers Center. Injured Aircraft Structures Mechanic. Student Entrepreneur.
Photo of Miguel Santana.

Miguel Santana SCG Member

President & CEO, California Community Foundation

Miguel A. Santana has more than three decades of expertise in government, nonprofit, private, philanthropy and the community sectors and is renowned as an advocate for systems change and making Southern California a more equitable place for all its residents, especially those who have been historically marginalized.

Santana was appointed in August of 2023 as President and CEO of the California Community Foundation (CCF), one of Southern California’s largest and most active philanthropic organizations, which has severed Angelenos for more than a century. CCF stewards $2.3 billion in assets and manages more than 1,900 charitable foundations, funds, and legacies.

Previously, Santana served as President & C.E.O. of the Weingart Foundation, which partners with communities across Southern California to advance racial, social, and economic justice. He also served as President and C.E.O. of Fairplex, a nonprofit community benefit regional organization based in Pomona, CA.

Santana was the City Administrative Officer for the City of Los Angeles, where he oversaw the City’s $9 billion budget and designed the City’s first comprehensive homeless strategy, resulting in a $1.2 billion voter-approved housing bond and a doubling of the City’s general fund investment on programs to end homelessness. Prior to joining the city, he served as one of five Deputy Chief Executive Officers for Los Angeles County, overseeing all social service programs supporting children, families, veterans, and persons experiencing homelessness.

Santana began his career as a community liaison at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), before working with L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina.

He engages in numerous civic efforts and is currently serving as Chair of The Angeleno Project. He also serves on numerous nonprofit boards, including the New York-based, Surdna Foundation. He is currently the Second Vice Chair of the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Authority (LACAHSA) and is Commissioner of CALACCOUNT Blue Ribbon Commission.

Santana earned his BA in Sociology and Latin American Studies from Whittier College and a MPA in Public Administration from Harvard University.
Deja posed in front of greenery with off white shirt, peach/pink blazer on with black hair in bangs and afropuff.

Deja Thomas

Program Manager, UCLA Center for the Advancement of Racial Equity at Work

Déjà Thomas is the Program Manager at the Center for the Advancement of Racial Equity (CARE) at Work housed at the UCLA Labor Center. Déjà’s work focuses on managing CARE at Work programmatic priorities including strategic partnerships and research with the Southern California Black Worker Hub for Regional Organizing and the implementation of our school-to-movement pathway, building the next generation of Black organizers.

Calling California home, Déjà has family roots in Mississippi, Chicago, and New York. She grew up in Atlanta, a bit in New Jersey, and partially in Bellevue (WA). Family experiences at an early age shaped her understanding of the challenges and opportunities of Black worker determination. Her work experiences include process evaluation as part of the California Transformative Climate Communities program and theory of change documentation for a rural Ugandan social enterprise.

Déjà has a Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) degree with community economic development and design and development concentrations, as well as a Food Studies Certificate at UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. She is a 2019 Switzer Environmental Fellow, 2016 Udall Scholar, and a 2016 Global Social Benefit Fellow at the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Outside of work she’s big foodie and interested in all things food systems, loves flowers and plants, and is reality tv watcher!

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