LDIR TRAINS YOUTH AND ADULTS TO BE COMMUNITY
LEADERS IN LOS ANGELES

Working to stem the tide of racial tension in Los Angeles, the Leadership Development in Inter ethnic Relations (LDIR) Program, for the past eight years has focused on bringing multiethnic groups together to learn skills that help them effectively address pressing racial conflict in their communities. "The strength of LDIR is learning skills in a 'community' of diverse people who are being enabled to take leadership to improve race relations," a 1995 participant explained.  Recognized as one of the nation's leading human relations training programs, LDIR is listed as a best practice by the President's Advisory Council on Race Relations.

While providing assistance to help calm racially tense areas of LA, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) heard many citizens say that they wanted to work towards racial harmony, but lacked the skills needed to bring people together.  In 1990, APALC initiated the LDIR program to provide citizens with the skills and background necessary to take leadership roles in promoting positive race relations.  The Martin Luther King Dispute Resolution Center and the Central American Resource Center (CARECUJ) have partnered with APALC to train promising community leaders in cultural awareness, conflict resolution end community organizing skills.  Since the program began, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) have also been important partners in the program.  "The most exciting thing about the LDIR program", says Jan Armstrong, the Director of the program, "is seeing people who would not ordinarily came together, collaborating to implement projects that reduce racial tension and create lasting bands." 

To help concerned citizens to move beyond cultural understanding towards building useful skills and proactive projects, LDIR offers an interactive six month training course to people from various ethnic groups who might not otherwise have an opportunity to work together.  A 1997 participant stated, "I thought I knew how to interact with people from different cultures but LDIR challenged me to move from cultural awareness to a level of genuine respect for difference and to find ways to hear everyone at the table so that the result is positive for everyone."  During the course of this non-traditional training, skills that improve cultural competence are developed through analysis, discussion, simulations and exercises.  The work of each of the partnering agencies is linked to the training to broaden the participants ability to place the overarching issues in their local contexts.  As they acquire skills and background, geographically specific teams of participants collaborate with existing groups to develop and implement community projects that will positively impact race relations.  It is this experiential work that solidifies grassroots leadership capability to build a stronger race relations infrastructure locally.

Potential youth leaders are impacted by the LDIR training as well.  Given that a limited number of students in the Los Angeles Unified School District receive training in human relations, LDIR offers a curriculum that is based on the six month adult training program to local high schools.  The strength of the youth program is a partnership among LDIR, the LAUSD end specific schools.  The ongoing youth classes are supported by a LDIR trained, school-based Care Team that reinforces the class and develops a long term human relations plan for the school.  Recently, students from Gardena High School, who had taken the LDIR class, played significant leadership roles in the peaceful resolution of a potentially volatile conflict connected to a request to change the school mascot name.  Their ability to identify the key issues and to facilitate effective dialogues is attributed to the LDIR class and strong support far capable student leadership from the Gardena faculty.

Graduates of the program continue working to improve the state of race relations by developing additional programs, incorporating human relations training into their workplaces or community groups, impacting public policy efforts, facilitating dialogues, public speaking, conducting trainings and forming effective coalitions.  Some Alumni have initiated their own programs to further develop capable human relations leaders who will continue to positively impact race relations.  For example, programs established within the LA City Fire Department by a LDIR Alumnus are among those listed as best practices by The President's Advisory Council on Race Relations.  About his participation in the LDIR Program, he said, "In all of the work I do, with numerous organizations and projects, the LDlR experience has enhanced the quality of that work".

LDIR is committed to augmenting the capability of organizations to establish their own training projects or to incorporate as much of the LDIR training as possible into existing programs, thereby increasing the number of individuals exposed to the training.  To benefit those who cannot commit to six months of training, module trainings and technical assistance have bean provided to more than 3,500 individuals from non-profit and business sectors; professional associations and educational institutions.  Staff, Alumni and volunteers have conducted conference workshops, panel presentations and speeches to well over 1,000 individuals.  These efforts are enhanced by the numerous other groups in the area that provide race relations programming which expand the involvement opportunities for those who wish to work for racial accord.

Twice a year, LDIR recruits adults, who live, work or worship in the San Gabriel Valley, Mid-City and South Central areas of Los Angeles, for the six month cycles.  There are no geographic restrictions for the module trainings or the technical assistance work.

For more information on the LDIR Program, please contact Jan Armstrong at (213) 748-2022, ext. 18.