EL CENTRO — Community members gathered for the dedication and blessing of the Imperial Valley Social Justice Committee’s new office on Saturday, May 15.
Though the committee was initially founded in 2014 by longtime community activist Marlene Thomas, it wasn’t until more recently that it obtained its nonprofit status and acquired office space in the downtown area.
The office dedication was attended by multiple elected officials, representatives of various local service organizations, Imperial Valley College, San Diego State University-Imperial Valley campus and the county Sheriff’s Office.
Rev. Denise Jackson, formerly of El Centro’s Johnson Chapel-African Methodist Episcopal Church, and current reverend at the San Diego-based Prince Chapel-AME Church, presided over the office dedication and blessing.
The Imperial Valley Social Justice Committee is committed to justice, equity and government accountability and transparency. Its office is located at 510 Main St.
Hilton Smith (from left) of Black Lives Matter Imperial Valley, Marlene Thomas, founder of the Imperial Valley Social Justice Committee, Lawson Hardrick, a research assistant at San Diego State University-Imperial Valley campus, and SDSU-IV Associate Dean Mark Wheeler attend the dedication for the I.V. Social Justice Committee’s new office in downtown El Centro on Saturday, May 15. | PAUL VALDIVIA PHOTO 
Lennor Johnson, vice president of student services and equity at Imperial Valley College and a member of the Imperial Valley Social Justice Committee, speaks at the dedication for the committee’s new office in downtown El Centro on Saturday, May 15. | PAUL VALDIVIA PHOTO San Diego State University-Imperial Valley campus research assistants, Calexico City Council member Raul Ureña (fifth from left), Pastor Rev. Denise Johnson, formerly of El Centro’s Johnson Chapel-African Methodist Episcopal Church, and Calexico Unified School District board Trustee Margarita Magallanes attend the dedication for the Imperial Valley Social Justice Committee’s new office in downtown El Centro on Saturday, May 15. | PAUL VALDIVIA PHOTO Calexico Unified School District board Trustee Margarita Magallanes and her two daughters attend the dedication for the Imperial Valley Social Justice Committee’s new office in downtown El Centro on Saturday, May 15. | PAUL VALDIVIA PHOTO David Chen (from left), a first-year student researcher at Harvard University, and Ivan Soto, doctoral researcher and Ford Fellowship recipient from University of California, Merced, attend the dedication for the I.V. Social Justice Committee’s new office in downtown El Centro on Saturday, May 15. | PAUL VALDIVIA PHOTO 
Alix Hart explains the significance of the newly designed logo for the Imperial Valley Social Justice Committee during the dedication of the committee’s new office in downtown El Centro on Saturday, May 15. | PAUL VALDIVIA PHOTO 
Pastor Rev. Denise Johnson, formerly of El Centro’s Johnson Chapel-African Methodist Episcopal Church, and current reverend at the San Diego-based Prince Chapel-AME Church, presided over the dedication and offered a blessing for the Imperial Valley Social Justice Committee’s new office in downtown El Centro on Saturday, May 15. | PAUL VALDIVIA PHOTO Wesley Smith (top row from left), Alix Harr, Hilton Smith, Lennor Johnson, Sonia Carter, Mark Wheeler (bottom row, from left), Julio Morales and Gretchen Laue, all members or volunteers with the Imperial Valley Social Justice Committee attend the dedication for the committee’s new office in downtown El Centro on Saturday, May 15. | PAUL VALDIVIA PHOTO
