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Adulting 101:

Power & Politics in Los Angeles

Ashley Peterson & Katherine Kapsidelis

Powell Library

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Power & Civic Engagement

Define & discuss “power literacy”

Power in Los Angeles

Breakout activity: Empowerment through collaborative learning

Discussion & Next Steps

Explore opportunities for civic engagement

AGENDA & GOALS

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Power Literacy

From the New Yorker

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What is POWER?

Control or authority over others
Capacity to direct or influence the behavior of other

From the Oxford English Dictionary

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Power & Civic Engagement

Who has power in a democracy?
Who decides?
Who makes the decisions that impact your life?

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Power in Los Angeles

LA County & LA City—important to understand who has authority over what

What issue are you interested in? For example:

Felony prosecutions (such as police misconduct): LA County - District Attorney
Zoning & development: LA City - City Council

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Key Elected Officials

LA County: board of supervisors, district attorney, sheriff
LA City: mayor, city attorney, city council

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Many people consider local government at the bottom of the hierarchy of power… The truth is that few, if any, offices in California carry the quiet power that is enjoyed by a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, first woman and first African American appointed to the Board of Supervisors and former member of the U.S. House of Representatives

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COLLABORATIVE ACTIVITY

Environmental Injustice in Los Angeles

https://tinyurl.com/3y7swudk

David McNew/Getty Images

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wFZC3728E3T-QpRwdr8GbmRl5UGK5UUWHEzwG6rGTB4/edit#

Building on our second definition of power (“Capacity to direct or influence the behavior of others”), this activity is designed with two goals in mind:

Citizen empowerment through learning, resource exploration: what are resources for getting/staying informed that can lead to action?
Model a collaborative process, which is how change happens. You all will be exploring resources & learning as a small group, and then teaching & learning from the larger group.

Through this activity you will learn about a single issue (which is actually extremely complex!) from a few different angles: case study examples, proposed legislation, and non-governmental advocacy groups

Disproportionate impact of environmental hazards (pollution, climate change) on low-income communities and communities of color

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Tip for Engagement

Understand the power dynamics for your issue
Contact officials who represent you
Work with local advocacy groups

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Next Steps

Find out who represents you?
Getting Involved with Westwood Politics (Daily Bruin)

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Sources

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Thanks!

Any questions?

Ashley Peterson - ashleypeterson@library.ucla.edu

Katherine Kapsidelis - kapsidelis@library.ucla.edu

Slides from Slide Carnival