Empowerment Congress

Mission Statement

The mission of the Empowerment Congress is to empower all members of our diverse communities to ensure our collective voice is heard by:

  • Encouraging and enlisting the full participation of our community to improve our quality of life;
  • Educating and informing our community on how government works; Developing strategies that shape policy and legislation;
  • Connecting our community with public resources

History

In January 1992, then Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas joined with key advisers and hundreds of constituents to form the Eighth District Empowerment Congress. The Empowerment Congress was an experiment in participatory government, founded on the principle that elected officials are most effective when the constituents they serve are actively involved in the decision-making process. Under the leadership of Mark Ridley-Thomas, the Empowerment Congress worked to educate, engage and empower constituents and was ultimately responsible for bringing more than $500 million in economic development and 2,800 new jobs to the Eighth District.

After nearly two decades since inception, the Empowerment Congress has now expanded its programs and mission of civic engagement and community empowerment to the Los Angeles County Second District, which includes nine cities (Los Angeles, Carson, Compton, Culver City, Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale, and Lynwood) and many neighborhoods of unincorporated areas:Athens, Baldwin Hills, Del Aire, East Compton, El Camino Village, Firestone, Florence, Graham, Ladera Heights, Lennox, Marina del Rey, Rancho Dominguez, View Park, West Carson, West Compton, West Rancho Dominguez, Westmont, Willowbrook, Windsor Hills, Wiseburn.

Second District Empowerment Congress Events