The Corner That Became a Movement

Every day for over five years, Latora Green has taken her position at the northwest corner of Sepulveda and Ventura boulevards in Sherman Oaks. What began as a solitary act of defiance – a woman with raised fists responding to George Floyd’s murder – has evolved into something far more complex and enduring than a protest. It has become a nerve center for community transformation.

“I came out here when it happened to George Floyd, but I didn’t stop,” Green explains, her voice carrying the weight of 1,800 consecutive days spent on this corner. “It’s bigger than that. It keeps happening, and we’re saying ‘enough is enough.’ We need to take care of us and build community.”

The transformation began organically. Passersby stopped to listen, to join, to ask how they could help. Green, a human resources professional laid off during the pandemic, recognized something profound was happening. People weren’t just angry – they were hungry for meaningful action. Within one month, what started as The Valley of Change protest had become The Valley of Change nonprofit, with Green trading her corporate career for the uncertain path of community organizing.

Beyond the Signs

While the corner remains Green’s base, the real work happens in shelters, schools, community centers, and encampments across Los Angeles. Green has built a three-pillared organization focusing on Financial Literacy and Career Pathways, Holistic Wellness, and Mutual Aid and Community Building that reaches far beyond Sherman Oaks into Watts, Compton, Hollywood, Pacoima, and beyond. 

In local shelters operated in L.A., Green conducts financial literacy classes where participants learn budgeting, credit building, and job readiness. One participant, Sandra Jones, raised her credit score from the low 400s to the mid-550s over six months. “We were able to help her go on Wells Fargo and see her credit score increase every single month by 10 to 15 points,” Green notes with pride. Jones, who had been living in a shelter, now has the financial foundation to secure permanent housing as well as the tools and confidence, and is empowered to do amazing things with new beginnings.

The Valley of Change’s impact has been vast. Green and her army of more than 750 volunteers have distributed over 80,000 meals and assembled and distributed more than 20,000 hygiene kits through schools like Marymount and hospitals like UCLA. And soon to be deployed is a mobile shower unit, built by yet another volunteer. But Green measures success differently. “It’s about the connection that we give,” she says. “We want the community connection. We want them to have trust in us.”

Green adds, “We want people to come together,” describing how her corner has become a gathering place for people seeking tangible ways to address systemic inequality. In an era when many protests fade, The Valley of Change has endured by transforming righteous anger into sustained community care.