Since 2008, the Social Justice Learning Institute, based in Inglewood, has worked to empower communities of color, to make an impact and to break cycles using education, training and more.
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"We have the ability to be the folks who can create more situated choices so that it can have better options, be able to make better decisions by changing the paradigms around them," said Derek Steele, the interim executive director of the Social Justice Learning Institute.
Musical artist Nakkia Gold grew up in South Central Los Angeles under challenging circumstances. Gold made some wrong turns along the way in finding her right path: music. Now, she'll be performing at Justice Fest.
"Life hit me and I really had to dig deep, eliminate everything around me so that I can focus on myself and find out who I am, what I love and what I really wanted to do," said Gold. "What we do is for the people, you know? We have to create, we have to inspire, we have to uplift."
Saturday's Justice Fest will be both an in-person event at the Miracle Theatre in Inglewood with a livestream component on SJLI's YouTube channel.
"There's a lot of change we're looking to create and we can't do it alone," said Steele. "We need the support of all Los Angelenos who have the mindset of using equity as a throughway for us to be able to live more liberated lives in the future. We're going to do that and we're going to do it together."
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Gold's song, "Justice (Get Up, Stand Up)" features Wiz Khalifa. It also draws on the iconic hit from Bob Marley and the Wailers, with a new message about equality and human rights.
For Gold, the future is bright.
"I see myself sitting at the table with Jay-Z, figuring out how we're putting parks in my community where I grew up, different recreational centers," said Gold. "I want to get places for the homeless, downtown Los Angeles, preferably, I want to start there and then spread that throughout, you know, southern Los Angeles and then wherever else we can get to."
If you want to know more about Justice Fest, go to the SJLAI Instagram page at @sjli_ca.
That's where you can get those free tickets!