Equity & Justice Presentation at Crossroads to Feature Helen Gym

Helen Gym, a leading progressive voice on Philadelphia City Council, will speak at Crossroads on April 22 in a presentation hosted by the Crossroads School Equity & Justice Institute and the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Equity & Justice Distinguished Lecture Series.

 

In a lecture entitled “When They Go Low, We Go Local: How Municipal Politics Power Grassroots Justice Movements,” the activist and community organizer will discuss the power of local politics to transform communities and effect change on social justice issues.

 

This free event—which will be held at 7 p.m. in Crossroads’ Community Room (1634 18th St., Santa Monica)—is open to members of the public.

 

Gym, the first Asian-American woman to serve on Philadelphia’s City Council, is also the national vice chair of Local Progress, a national network of progressive elected officials from local governments across the country. Local Progress is committed to “a vision of shared economic prosperity, equal justice under law, livable and sustainable communities and good government that serves the public interest.”

 

Gym is the recipient of the White House's César E. Chávez Champions of Change award and the 2017 National Rising Star Award from EMILY’s List. She is a contributor to the recently published book “Why I Run: 35 Progressive Candidates Who Are Changing Politics.”

 

“Civic engagement is defined as ‘individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern,’” says Derric J. Johnson, founding director of the Equity & Justice Institute. “Helen Gym understands that everyone should be concerned with their own level of civic engagement and their community’s as well. I look forward to her presentation addressing the necessity for progressive movement-building and developing a collective conscious for the greater good.”

The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Equity & Justice Distinguished Lecture Series was established to help stimulate dialogue among students, educators and community leaders committed to tackling the problems of racism, poverty, war, environmental degradation, educational inequities, religious persecution, genocide and other forms of injustice.

 

The lecture series is an initiative of Younes & Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation, which supports educational causes in a broad spectrum of institutions and through a wide variety of avenues: academic, public policy, community-based, social and artistic programs in the United States and Israel.