Coalition

California, one of the most culturally diverse states in our nations, is increasingly plagued by division along social, economic, ethnic, and political lines.  The Greenlining Coalition is an instrument to improve this divisiveness through proactive advocacy on broad based social justice issues.  The Greenlining Coalition is perhaps the oldest and most diverse coalition of Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, and Latino community leaders organized around a common purpose and struggle. 

The basic ideology that unifies the coalition is the understanding that increasing the size of the pie for all communities makes more sense than fighting for crumbs.  Beyond ethnic diversity, the coalition represents diverse constituents that include faith-based organizations, minority business associations, community development corporations, health advocates, traditional civil rights organizations, and minority media outlets.

History

The Greenlining Coalition came into formal existence in 1979. However, many of its members from the African-American, Asian-American and Latino community began to work together in 1971 to combat employment, lending and service discrimination by financial institutions and regulated utilities in California.  The early informal history of the Greenlining Coalition began with successful actions against the State’s eleven largest utilities in employment and service discrimination (1971) and against the five largest banks and nine largest savings and loans for lack of promotional opportunities to minorities.

Today, the coalition tackles issues in diverse policy areas, all aimed to empower communities of color through systematic changes to asset building, improved health, wealth creation, political empowerment, and poverty alleviation.

Coalition Members