We show up for racial justice in partnership
In everything we do, we follow the lead of people of color demanding racial justice. We continually to work to build relationships with organizations, individuals, and campaigns locally and nationally. See below for more information on partners we are working in solidarity with and campaigns we are supporting.
Showing up for racial justice (surj)
AWARE-LA/WP4BL are the Los Angeles affiliate of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ). SURJ is a national network of groups and individuals organizing white people for racial justice. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability. SURJ provides a space to build relationships, skills and political analysis to act for change.
Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles
We work in solidarity with Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles, including responding to calls for action, fundraising, and raising up local demands.
Black Lives Matter is a chapter-based national organization working for the validity of Black life and to (re)build the Black liberation movement.
The movement for Black lives
We endorse The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) policy platform and actively work to meet its demands.
The M4BL platform is a common vision and agenda for black power, freedom, and justice that was developed by a collective of more than 50 organizations representing thousands of Black people from across the country. To read about the vision for Black lives, click here.
JusticeLA Coalition
We are members of the JusticeLA Coalition, a coalition that was formed to reclaim, reimagine and reinvest what L.A. County could do with the $3.5 billion allocated by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to building two new jails.
Head to the JusticeLA website to see how you can support the call for a stop to jail expansion and a reinvestment in people and communities in L.A.
Los Angeles Community Action Network (LACAN)
“The mission of the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN) is to help people dealing with poverty create & discover opportunities, while serving as a vehicle to ensure we have voice, power & opinion in the decisions that are directly affecting us.” Read more at the LA CAN website.
LA DEFENSA
“La Defensa is a femme-led 501(c)(4) advocacy organization dedicated to shifting Los Angeles County’s reliance on criminalization and incarceration towards systems of care that center human dignity.
We defend the presumption of innocence through policies that challenge pretrial detention, we advocate for local and state budgets that reflect our values and we challenge judicial power by building public resources and electoral power. Our work is informed by the legacy of the communities we belong to: Chicanx, queer, immigrant, undocumented, working class people with incarcerated loved ones.” Read more at the La Defensa website.
Stop LAPD Spying Coalition
“The Stop LAPD Spying Coalition is a community organization founded in 2011. We work to build community power toward abolishing police surveillance. We are rooted in the Skid Row neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles, based out of the Los Angeles Community Action Network.” Read more at the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition website.
"Students Deserve is working towards Making Black Lives Matter in Schools. We want schools to divest from criminalization and policing. We want schools to invest in us as Black, Muslim, undocumented, indigenous, and queer youth in poor and working class communities of color. We follow the lead of Black Lives Matter in demanding that our schools defund the police and defend Black life.” Read more at the Students Deserve website.
Initiate Justice Action
“Initiate Justice Action mobilizes the power of people impacted by incarceration to advance progressive policies in California. IJ Action is a 501c4 organization founded and led by people harmed by the carceral system. IJ Action works to elevate the voices, priorities, and experiences of impacted Californians whose perspectives are often neglected.” Read more at the IJ Action website.