Antonia Izuogu

Born and raised in North Carolina, Antonia now serves the Los Angeles community while pursuing a graduate degree in urban planning from UCLA. She received her bachelor’s degree from Spelman College in Health Sciences, with a concentration in public health.

As an undergraduate, Antonia’s research examined how personal wealth affects health. Through this work, she came across community wealth-building as a strategy to lessen health disparities by encouraging communal economic equity. Her interest in community wealth-building and her passion for working directly with underserved communities brought her to urban planning.

For her capstone project, Antonia is researching the feasibility of a manufacturing worker cooperative in the South Los Angeles area in collaboration with Downtown Crenshaw Rising. Downtown Crenshaw Rising, a local community group, is seeking to build a Black-centered and -led cooperative business that will maintain sustainable growth, pay livable wages, and operate under eco-friendly standards.

Antonia is honored to be a selected fellow this year, and looks forward to completing her research with the support of the Lewis Center.

Project Overview

Downtown Crenshaw Rising (DCR) is a California nonprofit corporation based in Crenshaw. Currently, DCR has several community development projects in the works after attempting to buy the Crenshaw Mall with communal funds and other sources. A workgroup within DCR plans to open a bakery co-op as the first operation of locally based cooperative businesses, with a vision to expand into a larger network of cooperatives. The workgroup is interested in the likely success of opening a manufacturing co-op as an addition to the future hub. Accordingly, my research seeks to answer the question: What is the feasibility of establishing and maintaining a manufacturing worker-owned cooperative in Crenshaw, and how would local residents feel about this?

Why is this topic, specifically, important to you?

Throughout my time at Luskin, I have based most of my work around Black communities. I found myself fascinated by the 2022 cohort’s collaborative project, which created a framework and set of best practices to promote Black community control and obtain Black self-determination in the Crenshaw District. I sat in on their final presentation to their client, Downtown Crenshaw Rising, and was drawn to the economic development portion of the project due to its focus on building community wealth. My proposed research project is also a great opportunity to directly apply my knowledge from my program concentration in Community Economic Development.

Who are the partners involved in this project and how will you be working with them?

Downtown Crenshaw Rising (DCR) is a corporation invested in revitalizing Crenshaw holistically. I reached out to past group members and DCR to discuss how I could expand on the presented research, and further the initiative to start a Black-led, Black-centered cooperative.

Worker Ownership Resources and Cooperative Services (WORCS) is a cooperative consulting company helping DCR with its cooperative development. I will report to the workgroup monthly and utilize the workgroup’s connections to conduct interviews with local residents and business experts to aid my research.

How do you hope that this project will impact the field moving forward?

Moving forward, I hope that my feasibility study will help guide DCR on business possibilities while reducing the workload on a community corporation at no cost. DCR understands how they can revitalize Crenshaw and the South Los Angeles areas with economic liberation, and strengthen a connection between UCLA and the Crenshaw community. Such projects practicing research justice are an impactful opportunity within the Community Economic Development field for both students and communities to collaborate while aiding communities in the empowerment work that they are spearheading.