By Dianne Anderson

Growing up in District 6 in Long Beach, Autrilla “Sheba” Gillis lived next to her grandma and with her mom – both by definition powerhouse sheroes – they always had something good in the works.

Likewise, Gillis draws from her community activist roots as the daughter of Sharon McLucas, and granddaughter of local leader, the late Autrilla Scott.

Her dedication to the cause comes naturally.

“As a young adult, I moved out of the Sixth District. When my grandmother passed away, I inherited her house and it put me back in the neighborhood. Now that I have a daughter, I see a lack of resources and programming in the Sixth” said Gillis, Ed.D, a former teacher and principal, and director of after-school programs for 13 school campuses.

Gillis, co-founder of the nonprofit The SIX Long Beach last year, is pushing community improvement through collaboration with businesses, organizations, churches, schools and the community in the Sixth District.

During the last election season, they asked then-Councilman Rex Richardson, who agreed to come out for a forum in his run for Mayor where they had 70 to 100 people attending to ask questions related specifically to Sixth District residents.

Getting a local forum was something that doesn’t happen very often.

“It was amazing to have candidates come into our neighborhood and our community to have engagement,” she said.

The SIX has been growing, both in awareness and participation. Last year, at Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. and Pacific Coast Highway, they hosted an entire parking lot with real snow, a winter wonderland for the kids with vendors, volunteers, face painting and science projects.

Recently, they completed a financial workshop in conjunction with Long Beach City College, which allowed them to use a classroom at Pacific Coast Campus for third to eighth-graders to learn about money, credit, checking and savings and taxes. She said it also helps eliminate the student’s fear of stepping onto college campuses in the future.

In their culminating class, one local donor gave $1,500 and the kids walked away with $100 in their savings accounts.

But she feels that some of the community assistance that The SIX gives should be automatically available, such as the need for kids to get to school safely, and without trauma.

A few months ago, when 12-year-old Eric Gregory Brown III was shot and killed, she watched police and medical units from her living room window. The next day, her then eight-year-old child, along with other neighborhood kids had pushed their way to school through news cameras and police.

“It’s a crime scene and they are walking through that. They were confused, they looked nervous. I got to work that day and I didn’t feel settled,” she said.

She called her boss to say her community needed her, and went on social media to call every able-bodied person to stand in solidarity on Hill Street, between Orange and MLK from 2-3:00 p.m.

About 50 people showed up to stand in that space and give the students safe passage. They walked and talked with them as they navigated the tense walk home from school.

Parents saw the need and responded where other leaders could have stepped in, and many picked up their children from school that day.

“One of the things that happened that day was the council office showed up, not engaged with the community, but came to hand out business cards to the media. It’s like you’re not actually here engaged in the process in their life,” she said.

Next up for The SIX, they are recycling some successful events hosted last year, including a back-to-school drive in conjunction with other organizations. Then, students received money, and backpack giveaways with school supplies.

Because the Sixth district isn’t safe to go outside and Trick or Treat, they also partnered with Greater Harvest and local families and everyone came and decorated their trunks for Trunk or Treat, which is also upcoming this year.

“We had 25 cars. The children put on costumes to Trick or Treat from car to car,” she said.

At Thanksgiving, they fed over 100 families, bringing in over 40 organizations with each nonprofit choosing items from the menu, whether to bring side dishes or drinks for 100 items each to bring to the feast.

People in the community were able to shop free with dignity. The goal was to provide starter-kit dinners with everything needed to feed a family of four. A local sports team came and helped the seniors shop and carry their groceries.

“Someone called us and said we have turkeys do you want them? Duh, of course, we want them,” she said.

From the onset, she said the outreach and service was Blacks serving Blacks, to show that it can be done right. The SIX approach is borne of necessity.

Except for a chosen few organizations, she feels African American nonprofits are not getting the help needed in District 6. She has brought up her concerns in public venues many times.

Some qualifying Black organizations are not getting a fair chance, but she said the goal should be reaching out to get groups on par with services.

“As African Americans, we shouldn’t be working against each other, we should be working toward a common cause. There are many churches and many other organizations within the community that could benefit from the available resources.”

Along with other community members and parents of the Sixth District, she encourages everyone to get involved to bring back grassroots events. It’s all out of pocket, not funding from the city, county, or state. For the most part, she said it’s community collaborations, fundraisers, hosting resources and events.

“The power of The SIX is just our ability to mobilize community members, organizations and churches within the Sixth, as well as come together for a common cause amongst each other,” she said.

For more, see The SIX Instagram @thesixLB