Supervisors approve $50,000 to assess local opportunities for disenfranchised groups

EL CENTRO — The Imperial County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved $50,000 in funding to the Imperial Valley Social Justice Committee to do a needs assessment and develop an action plan to address an apparent lack of economic opportunity within the area for African Americans and other disenfranchised groups.

Marlene Thomas said IVSJC plans to conduct community informed participatory research into the issue of jobs locally for African Americans and others who are disenfranchised.

She said at one time there were sprawling communities of African Americans in the county that have since disappeared.

“They left because of a lack of jobs,” Thomas said. “What has happened, and how can that be changed? Our needs are not being met.”

She told the supervisors that in four of the five county districts there used to be an African American segment, like Bonita Elementary in Calipatria, churches and a school in Brawley, and a school in Imperial.

“In the past we came here for (opportunity), but children and grandchildren left because of lack of opportunities and jobs,” she said.

Community activist Raul Urena said the $50,000 cost is not much when considering what it could bring to the area.

“Fifty thousand is $20,000 less than what your public information officer (makes), and she does not (even) speak Spanish,” Urena said.

The implementation plan to go into the next

phase will require its coordinator and researchers to work with its partners and county departments to implement assessment recommendations.

The timeline for the implementation of the plan presented to the supervisors is two years. The first year is the needs assessment and the second year is for the implementation of the sustainability blueprint.

Supervisor Ray Castillo said he remembers attending Booker T. Washington Elementary School in El Centro from first to sixth grade in the 1950s. All of his teachers in those years were African-Americans, he recalled. And when he moved on to junior high, he said “it was a real new world.”

“Change is coming, and it’s good,” Castillo said. “Look at our weaknesses and how we can

make this a better place.”

Supervisor Mike Kelley said the Pledge Allegiance words of liberty and justice for all means a lot.

“Let’s not just say it,” he said. “Let’s do it for all.”

Specific areas to be looked into include community engagement and representation, housing, law enforcement, judicial services and economic opportunities along with many others.

Attention will be paid to all disenfranchised communities with a focus on the African American community in order to provide for in-depth analysis of one subgroup in order to inform future work.

Based on the report analysis, conversations with project partners and county departments, an action plan will be developed.