Bringing LA Residents to the (Dinner) Table to Discuss Race and Inequality

What happens when 1,000 strangers gather for a dinner party in 100 homes across Los Angeles? They get real on race, or at least that’s what the creators of EmbRACE L.A. hope will happen. Between April 16 and 19, a series of free, hosted dinners will bring Angelenos from all corners of the city together along with conversation facilitators to discuss race, racism, inequality and LA’s future.

According to Los Angeles Magazine, “LA City Council president Herb Wesson launched EmbRACE LA with help from Community Coalition, a nonprofit social justice organization based in South Los Angeles. Alberto Retana, Community Coalition’s president and CEO, says, ‘We wanted to do it in one week not because it’ll be over in a week, but because we really wanted to create a buzz and have an impact. We wanted folks to feel like while the living room is a small, intimate conversation of eight to 10 people, they’re participating in a conversation that’s involving a thousand people across the city in a short period of time.’”

“The alcohol-free dinners—catered by Derrick Lewis of Not Your Mama’s Kitchen, Stacey Whitney of Spoonful of Honey, Gregory Dulan of Dulan’s on Crenshaw, and others—will take place in volunteers’ homes across all of the city’s 15 council districts, and each one will include vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free options. Retana urges anyone who’s up for a deep, eye-opening discussion to get involved. ‘There aren’t many opportunities that allow our hearts to open up in the way that we’re trying to embrace. I just encourage everybody to take the opportunity to be a part of it.’”

For more information, visit embracela.org.