Building a Voice for Animo Pat Brown High School

and the Florence-Firestone Community

The APB Democracy Lab is built on the premise that civic engagement and civic action are core to understanding American Democracy. Students at Animo Pat Brown Charter High School, located in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood of South Los Angeles, engage in this work through various non-partisan “Avenues to Action.” Through students serving as poll-workers, pre-registering to vote in class, and registering, educating and turning out voters, students are the key actors in empowering themselves, their parents and the broader community in building power that is so often kept from many low-income neighborhoods. In addition to election work, students engage in research to inform advocacy on issue areas of choice, allowing them to leverage their civic power while many are too young to vote.

What have we done?

In the 2018-2019 school year, we:

-Created a bilingual Voter Guide, registered and educated voters for the 2018 Midterm Elections

-Met with LA County Board of Supervisors office, federal judge, US Congresspeople

And much, much more.

What’s ahead?

In the year ahead, highlights include:

—Lobbying trip to Sacramento

—Census education and participation efforts

—Continue to build relationships with local legislators to advocate for local issues

Voices from the Democracy Lab

More to come on our Student-run Podcast.

Many people think that government is just laws, but it’s about the people involved in this process including ourselves.

—Wendy, Class of 2018