About Us

Black Lives Matter

Healthcare Resources for Black & Indigenous People of Color

General Mental Health Resources:

SUPPORT BLACK BUSINESSES​

The Supplier Diversity Office (SDO) certifies diverse businesses and also manages several business programs that help enhance the marketability of small and diverse businesses when they bid on public contracts. 

 

Click here to find out how you can list your organization in the Directory of Certified Businesses with the SDO and what the many benefits are!

HEAR BLACK STORIES

STAFF PICKS:

Staff Picks:

  • A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
  • A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow 
  • Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change by Congressman John Lewis
  • Becoming by Michelle Obama
  • How to Be an AntiRacist by Ibram X. Kendi
  • Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad
  • So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
  • Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X Kendi
  • Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
  • The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein
  • The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
  • White Tears, Black Scars by Ruby Hamad
  • Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
  • Women, Race, & Class by Dr. Angela Davis

Podcasts:

Articles:

  • “Black History Month 2021: The only way forward is through, together,” by Nichelle Smith, USA Today (article)
  • “Casually Anti-Black Behaviors You Need to Quit Now,” by Sharai O’Connor, author’s blog (article)
  • “Confronting Prejudice: How to Protect Yourself and Help Others,” Pepperdine Online Graduates Blog (article)
  • “How the Colonial History of Hypersexualization Obscures the Possibility of Black Asexuality,” by Sherronda J. Brown (article)
  • “I’m Black and Asexual. Stop Being So Surprised,” by Delta B. McKenzie (article)

Click Here to View Statement Regarding the George Floyd Case & Derek Chauvin Verdict.

Statement from VLP

VLP staff and our volunteers see firsthand the disparate and negative impact that the economic and justice systems have on communities of color.

 

Our clients come to us facing seemingly insurmountable odds as they attempt to get fit and habitable housing, as they try to stay afloat in an economy driven by the high income and wealth of the few. Daily we work to equalize that impact and, through advocacy, give our client community the stability and tools to live the life they deserve.

 

Today, we want to acknowledge and shout that the murdering of Black citizens by law enforcement, the people who are hired to protect and defend, is a scourge of epic proportions. The pain and heartache of the families, the loss of valuable lives, the seething soul robbing anger, the death of trust, the stark realization that justice is not available to you, your friends, your sons and daughters robs our communities of their opportunities to realize their value and unique contribution.

 

VLP stands firm beside our Black colleagues, friends, family, and neighbors in the fight for safety, justice, and peace. We take this stand because Black Lives Matter. We commit to advocating for access to justice. We commit to quality representation.

 

We commit to the belief that with an expectation that justice will be served, the Black community can come also to expect and demand that no more die at the hands of racism fueled brutality. VLP demands the same.

 

–Executive Director, Joanna Allison