Youth art & poetry to celebrate diversity

Published on August 24, 2022

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Elementary, middle and high school students are invited to share how they celebrate diversity with a drawing, sketch or painting. Or they can put their thoughts into poetry form to represent the diversity and inclusion of the Lakewood community.

Each submission (one per student) will receive a coupon to a local Lakewood restaurant and be displayed at Lakewood Center mall starting Oct. 1 and at Lakewood’s second annual “Fest-Of-All” multicultural food & music festival on Saturday, Oct. 8, also at Lakewood Center. See a video about the Fest-Of-All at www.lakewoodcity.org/FestOfAllVideo.

The submission deadline has been extended to Sunday, Sept. 25 by email or Friday, Sept. 23 by 5 p.m. to City Hall (Recreation and Community Services Department) at 5050 Clark Ave. You can email them to Mary Toledo at mtoledo@lakewoodcity.org. You can also email Mary with questions or call her at 562-866-9771, ext. 2801.

Over several months in 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, the City of Lakewood held a Community Dialogue on race, equity, diversity and inclusion with hundreds of Lakewood residents participating. The end result was the city’s creation of an Action Plan to “build on all the good in Lakewood and make our community the safest, most welcoming place it can be, for everyone.” See the Action Plan at www.lakewoodcity.org/REDI

One important part of the Lakewood Action Plan is to encourage city youth to actively engage and to think about and discuss these issues.

Lakewood is one of the most broadly diverse cities in Los Angeles County, with a variety and composition of races, ethnicities and cultures that closely mirrors the county as a whole. In fact, Lakewood has been named one of the most broadly diversifying communities in the whole state of California.