We are neighbors, friends and community members who believe that democracy is worth defending — and that equity is worth fighting for. Neighborhoods 4 Equity was founded in 2025 with a simple but powerful idea: that organized, informed communities can change the world, starting right here at home.
Neighborhoods 4 Equity is a grassroots community coalition founded by residents of Windsor Hills, View Park, Ladera Heights and Baldwin Hills — four historically significant neighborhoods on the west side of Los Angeles. Our founders came together in 2025, united by a shared concern for the state of democracy and a determination to take meaningful local action.
Our coalition is intentionally diverse. Our members include veterans, public servants, educators, healthcare administrators, social workers and business owners. We are neighbors and friends, and we are guided by our deep belief in diversity, equity and inclusion as essential to a just and functioning society.
We provide a safe and open space for community members to come together, discuss the issues that matter most and plan strategic action in support of organizations and individuals committed to democratic values.
These four communities share a remarkable legacy. Long recognized as centers of Black professional life and civic engagement in Los Angeles, Windsor Hills, View Park, Ladera Heights and Baldwin Hills have been home to generations of leaders, innovators and community builders. It is from this foundation — and in honor of this legacy — that Neighborhoods 4 Equity was born.
Windsor Hills was developed in the late 1930s by Marlow-Burns Development Company. It was the first subdivision in Southern California for which the newly created Federal Housing Administration provided mortgage insurance. It also contains a collection of houses and mansions in the Spanish Colonial Revival Style, minimal traditional and Mediterranean Revival Style architecture. African-Americans were forbidden to live in either area until the Supreme Court‘s invalidation of racial restrictive covenants in 1948.
Photo By Jengod – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=121837929
View Park was developed between 1923 and 1970 an upper-class neighborhood by the same developers as Hancock Park, the Los Angeles Investment Company.[6] It is one of the wealthiest African-American areas in the United States. It contains a collection of houses and mansions in the Spanish Colonial Revival Style, Spanish Colonial, Mid Century and Mediterranean Revival Style architecture, most of which remain today. View Park architecture features the work of many notable architects, such as the Los Angeles Investment Company, Postle & Postle, R. F. Ruck, Paul Haynes, Leopold Fischer, H. Roy Kelley, Raphael Soriano, Charles W. Wong, Robert Earl, M.C. Drebbin, Vincent Palmer, Theodore Pletsch and Homer C. Valentine. It is also rumored that renowned African American architect Paul Williams had built several homes in View Park. The only documented Paul Williams home is located at 4351 Mount Vernon Drive.
Photo By Jengod – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=124487849
Ladera Heights is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 6,634 at the 2020 census.[4] Culver City lies to its west, the Baldwin Hills neighborhood to its north, the View Park–Windsor Hills community to its east, the Westchester neighborhood to its south and southwest and the city of Inglewood to its southeast. With an average household income of $132,824, Ladera Heights ranks third amongst the ten wealthiest majority-Black communities in the United States.
Photo By Jengod – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=124151681
Baldwin Hills is a neighborhood within the south region of Los Angeles, California, United States.
Often referred to as the “Black Beverly Hills”, Baldwin Hills is home to Kenneth Hahn State Regional Park and Village Green, a National Historic Landmark.
Photo By ASDFGH – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60237629
Neighborhoods 4 Equity is led by a dedicated group of community members who bring a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to equity and justice.
Mary Rollins-Rogers is a proud 40+ year resident of Inglewood with a deep commitment to community and service. She spent 33 years as Director of Client Services for a nonprofit agency dedicated to supporting individuals with developmental disabilities, and has volunteered extensively with Inglewood’s Relay for Life, the Inglewood Rotary Club, and various local, state, and national campaigns.
Gary Holland, a Los Angeles native and retired Union Pacific Railroad employee, has lived in Ladera for more than 30 years. He is committed to helping veterans access the benefits and resources they have earned.
Anise Harkey is a retired educator. She has been a resident of the View Park community for over 65 years.
Ramona Holland is a proud resident of Ladera Heights. She is driven by a belief in setting meaningful, challenging goals that create real and lasting change — and remains deeply committed to building a stronger, more equitable community for everyone who calls this area home.