Leimert Park, CA–In the wake of one of the greatest losses to the Los Angeles community, many were inspired to implement the various lessons taught by Nipsey Hussle in their daily lives.
Maria Gates, known online by her moniker Spiritual Homegirl, is one of the many people motivated by the business practices laid out by Nipsey Hussle.
The Atlanta, Georgia native now lives in Los Angeles and was inspired to hold financial literacy workshops at Hot and Cool Cafe in Leimert Park.
“Financial literacy is important; it is a mind, body and spirit experience. I wanted to show people in my community that. I want people in my community to empower themselves, find solutions and achieve.”
The community of Leimert Park is about a one-mile radius from Hussle’s flagship Marathon Clothing store. The Marathon Clothing sits in the center of the strip-mall parking lot, surrounded by five other businesses.
Hussle and his team operated all but two of the businesses in the Slauson and Crenshaw lot.
One month before he was gunned down, a Forbes article noted that Hussle had recently purchased the entire lot for a little over $2 million dollars.
The success of Nipsey Hussle is highly attributed to the knowledge he acquired through reading. This has sparked the beginning of various book clubs across several states.
Youth and elders alike, find themselves seeking similar understandings that Nipsey Hussle found, to help them unlock and tap into their own potential.
Gates also co-facilitates the Los Angeles Nipsey Hussle Book Club with her friend and Los Angeles native Joe Gardina. She is hoping that through community work and involvement, she is able to remain true to the values instilled in her as a young girl by her grandparents.
“I have been visiting Los Angeles since I was a little girl. I fell in love with it and always wanted to live here. My parents and grandparents were service oriented and they would take me and my sister to do service events since I was three years old.”
Gates relayed that she also wanted to hold the workshop in Leimert Park because she lives locally and wanted to show her love and gratitude for Los Angeles.
“I have always felt that if you are going to live somewhere, you should always add value to your community and beyond. This understanding allows me to move with respect when I operate.”
The workshop included a guest speaker who worked in finance, who provided insight into the meanings of various financial terms. Those in attendance were also provided a folder with information that would get them thinking about different avenues of income and what financial freedom looked like.
The guest were also provided with a free meal from one of Hot and Cool’s various menu options.
