Residents from Forest Hills hosted the first virtual meeting of the Color of Justice (@COJ_FH) last week.“Forest Hills is a nice place to live,” said COJ president Titilayo Yasukawa. “But far too often Black concerns get overlooked or outright dismissed by other organizations. So we decided to create our own space that empowers its citizens to find solutions through political, civic and legislative engagement.” The goals of COJ include educating residents about local government, community issues, legislative policy, and civic organizations, as well as local elections and candidates running in them. Bigger goals will tackle social justice, inequities in education, housing, public health, and more. They are currently seeking to fill the positions of secretary and treasurer on its board.“Our first objective is to build membership and to educate on the local political process,” said COJ’s vice president Gideon Zvulon. “We want to facilitate access to local government and encourage civic engagement, because it is at this level where critical resources for our community are distributed. We need to ensure that we have a seat at the table in those discussions.”The upcoming local elections were a major topic during the inaugural meeting.“In order to affect change that would affect yourself, or your community starts at the local level,” said Zvulon,. “Our clear and initial choice is to get people involved locally. Secondly, educating people to know politicians who have the best interests at heart, instead of just the ones you know by name.”By Samantha Galvez-Montiel
