Aqeela Sherrils, Skip Townsend, & Alberto Retana

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Aqeela Sherrills is a peace advocate, mediator, and spirit-centered activist based out of the community of Watts in Los Angeles, California.  As a witness to the brutality of gang violence, at age 19, Sherrills co-founded the Amer-I-Can Program to heal gang violence around the country. In 1992, Sherrills and his brother, Daude, successfully brought rival gangs, the Bloods and Crips, together to sign a historic peace treaty in Watts, L.A.  He and his brother also created the Community Self-Determination Institute in 1999 to tackle the overwhelming personal and social issues that underlie crime, drugs, and violence.  Sherrills currently Co-Directs  “Transfomative Change” (“XC”), a strategic partnership between two Bay area non-profits whose vision is rooted in co-creating a new paradigm where personal accountability, deep practice and leadership are core principals in a new movement for transformative social change. Sherrills also serves as the Principal of The Reverence Project, Owner/Curator of the Watts Arts Gallery and is the Southern California Outreach Coordinator for California Crime Victims for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.  

At the time when Bo Taylor was championing the call for peace and unity, Skipp Townsend an Arlington Heights resident and tow truck driver was more interested in the fact that Bo Taylor also owned a tow truck and they could collaborate on business deals to support both men. Bo was focused, committed and determined to create positive results in the two communities and was no longer interested in the towing business. Bo continued his mission and soon created Unity-One, an organization to assist in the redevelopment of the community and all the disconnected people that reside in it. Skipp continued his dreams of being a tow truck driver and soon created Level One Tow Service. Gaining Ground in the Community and Belize Unity. It was at that time when Kenny and Skipp decided to give the community a “Second Chance at Loving Life” and creating the acronym 2nd Call.

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Alberto Retana’s core values center on the notion that people, love and compassion – matched with organized power, strategy, and vision – have the potential to transform society. Alberto was introduced to organizing at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he graduated with a degree in Political Science. As a student activist, he joined with other students across the country to organize campaigns to defend affirmative action, lower student fees, and advance racial justice. After UCLA, Alberto cut his teeth in community organizing at Community Coalition, a nonprofit organization based in South Los Angeles that engages and empowers residents to improve health, education, and public safety. At Community Coalition, Alberto further developed his organizing values: understanding that leadership development, building the power of collective action, and non-violence are core tenets to advancing social change. Alberto’s unwavering commitment to organizing began with South Central Youth Empowered Through Action (SCYEA). For the next eleven years, Alberto continued organizing in different capacities, leading Community Coalition through major victories in advancing racial justice, economic justice, food justice, and education equity.

WEBSITE: Aqueela Sherrills
                        Skip Townsend
                       Alberta Retana

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  1. Hi Dominique,

    I’m a woman of a certain age and I used to listen to “Front Page” back in the day. I started listening again about 8 months ago when my job relocated to Costa Mesa, I live in downtown Long Beach and enjoy listening to you getting fired up every morning. You do a great job sista, I really enjoyed the topic this morning. I grew up in Compton at the inception of the Crips and the Bloods. My mom still lives in Compton, in the same house my siblings and I grew up in. Compton will forever be my home. We’ve come a long way, still got some stuff to do. My classmate Tana McCoy was just reelected to the city council and I’m hoping that she gets the support to implement positive change. Aja is doing an outstanding job, change requires time and I hope the City gives her more of it. I’m attending the event this weekend in LBC and I’m able to walk to it. If I see you, I’ll introduce myself. Please keep up the good work and continue to make us proud. Thank you