The Community Action League (TCAL) aka “The Social Justice Warriors” brings a “Wealth of Expertise” to support this effort and has a distinguished history of being the leaders of innovation. In 2017 TCAL partnered with the Department of Justice and helped over 400 families in the Antelope Valley receive 2.7 million dollars in reparations in a housing discrimination lawsuit. Entering its 24 years of operation, the TCAL has firmly established itself as the {leading civil rights service organization} in “high-need, under-resourced communities” of the Antelope Valley, CA (AV) because TCAL specializes in innovative programs and projects that foster leadership training, community empowerment/self-sufficiency, economic and social development.
“Strong on-the-ground”, the TCAL has an “Established and Proven Track Record” in organizing, town-hall meetings, know your rights, press conference etc. TCAL board members are specialist in our community for giving voice to the issues through research and advocacy, bringing together community leaders to provide solutions, and engage organizations through offering an extensive array of community informational resources.
TCAL has been involved in community outreach, organizing activities and has hosted over eighty (80) events in the AV for over 16 years now.
TCAL is a multi-service, tax exempt 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization Tax ID 30-0717212. TCAL Board members, volunteers and community members are innovators who solve complex challenges in the communities to which they are deeply and personally connected.
TCAL’s vision is to build a more humane society. TCAL’s mission is to promote equality, to assist, empower, improve, elevate and advance the economic, political and social conditions of community residents within the Los Angeles County and the Antelope Valley (AV).
TCAL began as a newspaper in 1993 by a veteran and community activist Pharaoh Mitchell and migrated into a working group in 2009, and was incorporated in 2013. As a group of concerned, motivated citizens who envisioned an organization that would combine their passions and who grew up in the community and knew the challenges facing area families, TCAL decided to take action and developed a “nonprofit support system” to provide much-needed help to area families.
TCAL is governed by a board of five dynamic and effective leadership/officers and engages a broad spectrum of volunteers for assistance in implementing its programmatic and fundraising activities. TCAL’s organizational structure of President, Vice President, Executive Directors and Secretary make all operational decisions. Our highly trained board of directors represents over 86 years of experience in this specialized area. Our organization is uniquely suited to meet the needs of families with children in the areas of general assistance, support in poverty reduction and developmental strategies that strengthen family and community-base support. A large volunteer organization provides additional support to TCAL as evidenced by on-going programs, lectures, and community outreach.
These programs empower community residents in the areas of “movements to advance positive change”, economic equity, business, housing, public policy, politics, community organizing, mentorship and other programs which will advance the economic, political and social success of community residents.
TCAL is the only multi-service organization of its brand type. TCAL’s strong history of helping low-income communities in the AV and Los Angeles fight for their civil rights has created positive change in the lives of all families in the community by equipping them with tools to succeed today so they can hope for a better tomorrow. TCAL is dedicated to supporting a movement of low-income families who advocate on their own behalf for the positive change.
TCAL’s membership consists of 50 businesses and nonprofit organizations, 300 public members, and a waiting list of over 1,000 community residents eager to participate in TCAL’s programs. TCAL engage multiple stakeholders, people, communities, organizations for input and accountability.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Entering its 24 years of operation, TCAL has firmly established itself as the leading civil rights service organization in AV. TCAL’s Civil Right Movement, programs, and events are the roadmap of how future generations of civil rights organizations can effectively mobilize and make positive social change.
Other resources that can support the proposed activities include helping more than 30 projects and 250 civic leaders through its services, strategic initiatives and other special projects. TCAL is a socially responsible nonprofit organization designed to promote harmony and economic revitalization and to assist in putting a stop to generational poverty specifically among the diversified cultures, races, and people in the under-resourced communities in AV. We are experts in providing professional consulting, technical assistance and other related program and/or organizational support to community residents through our consulting services. TCAL offers a wide range of individualized consulting, leadership development, administrative assistance, training workshops, network building and project management that assist organizations and collaboratively address community needs strategically and effectively.
TCAL has been involved in community outreach, organizing activities and has hosted over eighty (80) events in the AV for 16 years now. TCAL has been meeting the needs of low-income people for over 24 years. The forums also made a difference in addressing issues of racial profiling and acted as a catalyst for community and social change by offering support, guidance and training to residents about their legal rights.
TCAL’s events include: Town Hall Meetings, Know-Your-Rights Community Workshops, Crime Prevention Conferences, Marches for Justice, Community Forums, Concerts- in-The Park, Venice Beach Unity Festival and Health Fairs, AV Unity Day, Neighborhood Watch March and Rallies among others.
All of our programs are designed with broad-based citizen participation as their foundation. That builds power to win institutional change and to advance economic and racial justice in Los Angeles County.
Distinctive Qualifications
TCAL creates, applies and transfers multidisciplinary knowledge to help people understand community change and identify opportunities in their communities. TCAL has innovative cutting edge systematic leaders in the grassroots movement of elevation, and TCAL raises public consciousness about community issues. We are the next level of a new grassroots movement organizing, and TCAL has worked to assist struggling families escape hunger and poverty across several California communities. To date, TCAL has assisted over 300 individuals to start new businesses, and over 400 youth and adults to find employment.
For more than 24 years, TCAL has played a key role in affecting local decision making and “policy change aimed at addressing the root causes of inequity” in the AV area, particularly by representing less popular and competing views in the political process. TCAL’s coalition of nonprofits, municipalities, and businesses that form to address one set of issues may dissolve if conditions change or if a consensus cannot be reached on a particular course of action. Indeed, the relationships among institutional players are continuously evolving and are likely to change over time and across issues.
Proven Track Record
Rooted in the great human rights struggle for equality and justice, TCAL exists to fulfill America’s promise of a caring, inclusive and just democracy. TCAL uses innovative tools and strategies (including law, communications, policy and organizing) to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change with a focus on undoing structural racism. Only by developing cross-movement partnerships can TCAL become a powerful force in the broader fight for social justice and only then can TCAL build the critical mass within the movement needed to achieve the goal.
The foundation of TCAL’s efforts is grassroots “multi-racial” organizing and massive demonstrations by way of direct action. TCAL has built a membership base by organizing town hall meetings, hosting community forums, and sponsoring educational and grassroots leadership training. TCAL has amassed a mailing and organizational list of over 3,000 community members and activists who are ready, willing and able to transform old institutionalized processes that disable, weaken and cripple the development of strong and healthy family and community constructs within marginalized populations. The action plan is to strengthen the capacity of smaller grassroots organizations located in low-income communities focused on advancing social and economic equity.
Expertise
TCAL is committed to making substantial contributions toward improving the quality of life for all residents by improving the physical nature of local neighborhoods, strengthening community bonds and supporting a community that is governed, ruled and empowered by its people. TCAL is a grassroots movement in direct response to the growing number of individuals that are either falling through the cracks or who live in isolated households and do not have access to government help programs and other local community services.
TCAL supports children and families that are the results of dysfunctional or broken homes. TCAL’s assistance supports poverty reduction with developmental strategies designed to empower families through broad-based citizen participation.
The thing that has made TCAL so successful so far has been our energetic community forums. The forums we have hosted have had a significant impact on community residents by increasing community awareness and understanding. It has also fostered a better relationship with community organizations and attorneys’ networking with each other to further advance community enhancement.
TCAL has worked with community leaders and agency partners to identify priorities and set up community steering committees to give and receive feedback on the status of the project. TCAL’s objective is to strengthen the power and voice of low-income people and working families at all levels of civic life—from local institutions and communities to local, state, and federal policy arenas.
TCAL’s philosophy is committed to activism, community organizing, health and economic stability of the AV and surrounding Los Angeles communities. Crime is the number one problem in these areas; but statistics show that with regular monitoring of the community, career development, family counseling and new business startups, TCAL can teach people how to become much more positive, productive, self-sufficient citizens.
TCAL collaborates with other outreach and enrollment activities to continue to serve low-income mothers & fathers, the homeless, the teens in Los Angeles County and help meet various needs:
TCAL acts as a catalyst for community change. It provides civic action and readiness by offering support, guidance and training to a range of nonprofit organizations, initiatives, foundations, government agencies and social entrepreneurs with innovative ideas for building communities.
TCAL has begun the process of recruiting and training leaders from other non-profit organizations, clergy, and other progressive organizations to assist in this important community revitalizing effort.
Consistent in bringing balance, teamwork, individual creativity, challenging work standards and a stable environment to projects, TCAL provides Strategic Development, Management Solutions, Community Development, and Marketing in diverse business settings. TCAL has extensive background experience and Senior Level Management in place for Strategic Community Development and implementation of various projects in California.
Capability
TCAL recognizes that transforming communities requires building alliances committed to advancing equity. TCAL’s innovative leaders bring fresh and inspirational solutions and strategies to difficult challenges. TCAL’s leaders are highly motivated, vision-oriented, and dynamic team players with abilities to communicate, lead, and successfully build strong teams to accomplish objectives.
Community Strengthening: By increasing the quantity, quality, or efficiency of the services, operations or capacity of a nonprofit organization, enhancing collaborations in which agencies achieve shared positive outcomes, or encouraging community volunteerism, we build capacity to advance the Common Good for the badly affected community.
TCAL has met individually with community-based organizations, religious groups, associations and community leaders and has scheduled multiple informational and planning sessions for the general public. The planning sessions were designed with input from the individual meetings in developing leaders from the membership base for the purpose of furthering the mission.
This project took 32 years to develop through a mountain of research, surveys, community engagement and program design. TCAL’s programs are based on proven workable solutions. TCAL is in a unique position to manage this project for two reasons.
Firstly, our staff will aggressively market and evaluate our actions and course from the use of current analytical tools, intensive staff training, and high level technical support. Secondly, Management will provide direct and personable case management, intervention, and resource referrals and links on a case by case basis. TCAL has already begun the process of recruitment and training of families, single adults, and youth for the success of this project.
This project affects systemic change by ensuring needed diverse community involvement in the scope and design phase. In addition to holding evening community meetings, TCAL has met separately with community organizations and leaders to get their input. TCAL worked closely as team members to establish power, equity and stakeholder analysis on the project and has used the results to assist guide planning.
TCAL has provided strategic planning, program development, evaluation, capacity building, and management consulting services to foundations, nonprofits, corporate citizenship programs, and government agencies. Each project TCAL undertakes benefits from a team approach that involves individuals with different skills and backgrounds. TCAL consultants are leaders in the field of community organizing. TCAL believes that strong nonprofit organizations lead to strong programs and ultimately greater impact in the community.
Through individual meetings, door to door campaigns, public meetings, and public policy advocacy, TCAL inspires the AV community into action in order to address the problems affecting low-income families. TCAL has addressed issues ranging from: Section 8 recipient discrimination, racial profiling by police and the incessant attacks against our youth within the criminal justice and educational system.
TCAL empowers communities with information, principles, and resources needed to achieve health and stability for families, schools, businesses and communities.
As a well organized grassroots movement, TCAL focuses on establishing community bonds and building communities governed, ruled and empowered by its people. TCAL has a network of public and private member agencies that work together toward common goals.
- TCAL creates a learning environment that is an invaluable resource to families, children and the community at-large.
- TCAL’s goal is to strengthen families’ one person at a time.
- TCAL’s wealth of experiences, resources, and knowledge assist in shaping the social and economic climate in low-in come communities;
- TCAL teaches the importance of community development by establishing new non-profit organizations as one of the ways that promote community development and job creation;
- TCAL assists in locating affordable housing for low to moderate-income individuals and families;
- TCAL plans and coordinates many constant community events.
For over a decade, TCAL’s primary focus has been on business startups and community self-help programs. The goal is to organize the member base for the purpose of furthering TCAL’s mission to transform the community to attain social justice.
The goal of our community organizing is to bring people of all diverse backgrounds together to powerfully solve neighborhood and other community problems. We strive to strengthen and involve more people in the bettering of life in their communities such as churches, clubs and community-base associations. Our community organizing is guided by the values of love, justice, democratic participation, and respect for ethnic, religious, and other forms of diversity. Our organizing work is often accomplished in a large number of contexts and with a variety of constituents such as seniors, families, neighborhood watch groups, religious institutions, secular groups, tenants and youth.
TCAL is devoted to assisting schools, social networks, community services, government and other agencies unite and assist people in need. It was originally founded to assist the homeless in South Central Los Angeles find jobs, shelter, food, clothing, and basic healthcare.
TCAL’s goal is to transform and improve the quality of life of our community through grassroots organizing and economic empowerment. TCAL has a commitment to make a significant contribution to better the quality of life for all residents by improving the physical nature of our neighborhoods and environment.
We are committed to organizing the following:
Addiction Prevention, Recovery Groups, Advisory Community Support Groups, Anti-Crime Groups, Block Clubs, Business Organizations/Support Groups, Charitable Groups and Drives, Civic Event Groups, Cultural Groups, Education Groups, Family Support Groups, Men’s Groups, Mentoring Groups, Neighborhood Improvement Groups, Political Organizations, Recreation Groups, Religious Groups, Social Cause/Advocacy/Issue Groups, Veteran’s Groups, Women’s Groups and Youth Groups.
Our Community organizing follows a three-step (3) process:
Most Recent Accomplishments
TCAL worked with the human relations Commission and the Board of Supervisors to do a public hearing on policing and human relations. We had about a hundred people show up to voice their concerns over policing. We had law students taking testimony from the community. They recorded 50 testimonies.
We put the “Antelope Valley courthouse on trial” To highlight the Injustice in the Antelope Valley courthouse, to put a stop to unjust prosecution about community members, to put it into overcharging the felonies and Forest plea bargaining and to reform the juvenile and criminal justice system. At the meeting the department of justice monitoring team was there, the captain of the Lancaster Sheriff Department was there, representatives from Palmdale sheriff’s department was there, representative from Lancaster City Hall was there, and we had 65 community members giving testimonies about their experiences with the Antelope Valley courthouse.
We wanted to hear from the community about their personal experiences with the Antelope Valley Courthouse, law enforcement officers and agencies, and about their suggestions for increasing fairness and equity in policing, and building and/or maintaining positive relations between police and communities.
The goal of this hearing was to
- To highlight the injustices in the Antelope Valley Courthouse;
- To petition DOJ to launch an investigation into the AV Courthouse;
- To put an end to overcharging of felonies and forced plea bargains;
- To reform the Juvenile & Criminal Justice System, and stop our children and non-violent citizens from being used as commodities.
We put on 2 know your rights workshops both in English and Spanish teaching them “How to navigate through the AV justice system”. We thought them about their Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights, What to do when confronted by Law Enforcement, Stop and Frisk” Arrests and what to say when arrested, How to determine when your are being “Racially Profiled, How to get a felony conviction expunged from your record, The real deal behind “Plea Bargaining” your life away.
‘Know Your Rights’ workshops — a partnership formed to empower and uplift all of us to ensure that constitutional rights and equal justice are upheld by law enforcement. It’s vital that we all are prepared and informed regarding our rights before, during, and after interacting with local sheriffs, or other authorities.
We are inviting the community to join us for a series of workshops and skill shares designed to help empower our movement and community to take the law into our own hands This know your rights workshop covers interacting with the police, searches, warrants, and the court/arraignment process. We use role plays and real life scenarios to empower community members to assert their rights in situations, how to do this effectively but safely, and to demystify the legal process. What “magic words” should you say to police to invoke your rights? Armed with knowledge, activists and others can make informed choices regarding their interactions with Law enforcement and the court house.
TCAL partners with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Neighborhood Legal Services (NLS) and County Council is the catalyst for community and social change. Housing Authority of Los Angeles County and the Cities of Lancaster, California, and Palmdale, California, all agree to Settle Fair Housing Claims in the Antelope Valley for $2,000,000, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department agrees to Policing Reforms and provides for a monetary fund of $725,000, and Palmdale officials agreed to major changes in their elections system (District Voting Lawsuit).
- Agreement Resolves Allegations that Defendants Discriminated Against Section 8 Voucher Holders on the Basis of Race.
- Justice Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Agree to Policing Reforms and Settlement of Police-Related Fair Housing Claims in the Antelope Valley
- Palmdale officials settle lawsuit, agree to voting by district
