The Liberty Hill Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Sarah Pillsbury, heir to the

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Pillsbury baking fortune, along with Anne Mendel, Larry Janss and Win McCormack, in 1976. Its motto is "Change. Not Charity." The name of the foundation derives from a famous incident on May 15, 1923 when writer

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American author, muckraker journalist, and political activist, and the 1934 California gubernatorial election, 1934 Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

spoke to approximately 3,000 striking longshoremen at Liberty Hill in

San Pedro, Los Angeles, California San Pedro ( ; ) is a neighborhood located within the South Bay and Harbor region of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major inter ...

. In a piece of street theater designed to highlight ongoing suppression of

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...

by the

LAPD The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

, Sinclair began his address by reading the

Bill of Rights A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pri ...

. Within moments, he was arrested.

Activities

The foundation presents an annual award in the name of activist and writer

to "a person of unwavering idealism and vision, whose work illustrates an abiding commitment to social justice and equality." The Upton Sinclair Award is given to "a person like Sinclair, whose lifelong crusade for equality and justice inspires us even today." In addition, Liberty Hill presents its Founders Award to individuals who embody the spirit of change, not charity, with the belief that real progress happens in communities. The foundation also funds local

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

organizations dedicated to

environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has gene ...

, such as East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice. It has also provided funding for out-of-state organizations such as the Brennan Center for Justice at

New York University School of Law The New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it was the first law school established in New York City and is the oldest survivin ...

References

External links

* Organizations based in Los Angeles Non-profit organizations based in California {{nonprofit-org-stub