POMONA, Calif.  – The Los Angeles County Fair has focused its efforts in bringing multicultural representation to the Fairplex this year, and one such move is its partnership with CEEM, the Cooperative Economic Empowerment Movement.

CEEM provided a weekend “takeover” celebrating the contributions of African Americans in pop culture. The weekend was filled with music, arts, dance, and educational panels.

Judah 1 is a passionate poet that shared his craft at the fair. Having worked with CEEM previously, he believes in its mission to increase wealth in the African American community through entrepreneurship, empowering artists to also understand the business side of their talents.  

“I love art because art literally saved my life. When I was 16 my best friend committed suicide. I was really depressed, art, poetry, gave me the outlet to express myself to get that out of my heart, out of my mind,” Judah 1 said.

Judah 1 has been supported by CEEM firsthand and knows the importance of mentorship in the business sphere.

“I’m a small business owner and an artist so it just helps me to get a network, also there’s other business owners there that know quite a bit so there’s like organic consulting, there’s an osmosis process that’s going,” he said.

And that’s exactly what Reggie Webb, the founder of CEEM, envisioned when he established his organization. He wants to see his community experience financial freedom, passed down from one generation to the next.

“It started so we can improve financial literacy and entrepreneurialism in the African American community. We have $1.2 trillion in income in the United States and we don’t sell what we buy so it produces very little wealth. And so, in order for us to produce wealth we have to own land or own businesses and CEEM is all about the owning businesses part. I am in the fourth quarter of my life, and so legacy becomes very important to you once you get older,“ Webb said.

The L.A. County Fair, which had its first opening in 1922, is the fourth largest in the nation. Attendance is increasing each year and so is multicultural representation.

“The L.A. County Fair is the fair for everyone. It’s extremely important to have diversity in the fair because the new generation of fair goers looks like us,” Lucas Rivera, Senior VP of the Fairplex, said.

And as the CEEM team geared up for both fun and enlightenment, Judah 1 says the education that is provided is priceless.

“The information that CEEM has for you, the opportunity and how it can be applied in our community,” he said.