BET Media Group, NAACP and More Launch Fund to Support Historically Black Neighborhoods Following Eaton Fire

variety.com:

Matt Minton mminton@variety.com The BET Media Group, NAACP, Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole and WME are collaborating with local community organizations to launch the Altadena Community Preservation Fund, supporting historically Black neighborhoods devastated by the Eaton Fire.

In coordination with LA County’s partnership, local groups supporting the fund include Community Aid Dena, Altadena Heritage and WalkGood LA.

The fund will provide direct financial assistance to help with the rebuilding process, including costs for temporary housing and administrative and legal fees. “For generations, Altadena served as a refuge for Black Americans looking to escape the Jim Crow South and the discriminatory land ownership practices pervasive in so many other communities in California,” president and CEO of BET Media Group Scott Mills said. “As such, it became a haven for Black families and an exemplar of the power of generational wealth in the Black community.” Homeowners who qualify for the fund are defined by census tracts, including those who are uninsured or underinsured, have limited net wealth as determined by LA county parameters and those who are senior homeowners not currently in the workforce.

The fund’s goal looks to long-term recovery to help preserve Altadena’s cultural heritage. The NAACP is activating on-ground presence with town hall meetings that will create dedicated spaces in the community for people to connect. “The unimaginable devastation has stripped generations of Black families of not just their homes, but the sanctuaries and pillars of generational wealth they built,” NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson said.