Arriving to the L.A. City College campus this weekend was no simple task; particularly after a range of emotions in the wake of another tragic loss for the Virgil Village community, this one even closer to home.
But as our communities have done for generations atop the barren concrete of Los Angeles, we pulled our spirits up from within to will one foot in front of the other through just enough distance to reach the college’s brilliant quad.
What we saw then was nothing less than reaffirming of this mission. Underneath a quilt of loving daylight the quad bustled with life, filled by people from all over Los Angeles and throughout the world who, like us, were also seeking to make the most of their time in the environment around them. It all rushed back into clarity again:
Despite a world that will continue turning with or without our efforts, we’ve got to continue pushing for stronger communities in our neighborhood, for better youth and education programs here, for holistic support of the most vulnerable among us instead of their out-casting, and more. The future yearns for it. And because we know we deserve the opportunity to create it for ourselves as much as anyone else.
J.T.
