At 23, CSUDH junior Ricardo Ortega Martinez Jr. is already a veteran in California politics. “My advocacy and community organizing started at the age of 17,” says Martinez, a political science major whose early experience with foster care growing up in Huntington Park helped shape the focus of his current advocacy work. Martinez serves as youth commissioner for California’s 5th District, which encompasses much of Antelope Valley and northeastern Los Angeles County. The Youth Commission was established in September 2021 by the Board of Supervisors to promote involvement by young people in public policy decisions. Youth commission members have direct experience with foster care, juvenile ... Read More
Los Angeles
NBC4: CSUDH Can Boast about Graduating 5 Current Mayors
Source: NBCLA (Video) In LA County there are several big name and world-class universities but there's only one university that can boast about graduating five sitting LA County mayors. "This school produces a lot of, you know, greatness," said Johnathan Kaufman, a Cal State University of Dominguez Hills student. From Dominguez Hills to city hall only Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson can brag about graduating five siting LA County mayors. They are Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, Compton Mayor Emma Sharif, Carson Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes, Hawthorne Mayor Alex Vargas, and LA's newest Mayor Karen Bass. "She grew up in our community, she grew up like we did, she went to ... Read More
CSUDH History Woven into New Book about Los Angeles Street Groups
More than 30 years ago, CSUDH Professor Emeritus of Sociology John C. Quicker and alumnus Akil S. Batani-Khalfani began a sociological and historical deep dive into the origins of street groups in South Los Angeles. Their years of research, which began during their time together at CSUDH, have turned into a new book: Before Crips: Fussin’, Cussin’, and Discussin’ Among South Los Angeles Juvenile Gangs (Temple University Press, July 2022). In 1970, when Quicker began teaching sociology at what was then known as California State College Dominguez Hills, the campus and surrounding community were in the throes of change. It was five years after the 1965 Watts Rebellion, and only two years ... Read More
Rafu Shimpo: Muto Details Japan, African American Collaboration
Source: Rafu Shimpo BEVERLY HILLS — Consul General of Japan Akira Muto announced on June 30 an unprecedented, four-pillar collaboration between Japan and African American communities, pledging “a deeper kinship and mutual understanding.” “We are just so excited by this collaboration,” reacted Michael A. Lawson, Los Angeles Urban League president and CEO and former ambassador in the Obama Administration. Impetus for the consul general’s plan, outlined during the L.A. Urban League’s 100th anniversary celebration, stems from a series of discussions involving African American and religious leaders that began after his arrival in the fall of 2019. Less than a year later, the ... Read More
CSUDH Art Gallery Presents an Exhibition of Work by Lauren Halsey
The University Art Gallery at CSUDH proudly presents a solo exhibition of work by the Los Angeles-based artist Lauren Halsey. The exhibition will be on view March 12 through December 10, 2022; Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The public is invited to an opening reception for “Lauren Halsey” on Saturday, March 12, from 12 to 6 p.m. The artist’s latest venture in funkified placemaking, this exhibition extends Halsey's architectural mappings, materializing itself in objects, names, remembrances, and colors of home. Red, black, and green (the colors of the Pan-African flag) sit parallel with orange, yellow, pink, and blue hyper pigments (the colors of South Central). Together, this ... Read More
