Daily Inspiration: Meet Fredrisha “Sha” Dixon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Fredrisha “Sha” Dixon.

Hi Fredrisha “Sha”, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Thank you for taking the time to hear my story. I think I’m more thrilled than you are! I am truly honored to be on a platform that I respect and admire so much. Growing up in Nashville, TN I always looked up to Oprah Winfrey. I looked up to her so much that I studied Broadcast Journalism at Middle Tennessee State University. Then after college, I created, produced, and hosted a talk show called Tips and Tea with Sha Dixon. Tips and Tea with Sha Dixon aired regionally in Georgia for three seasons and due to its success, I was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and produce it with a tv network. So basically, when I moved to LA, I had dreams of being the next Oprah Winfrey. However, shortly after I got to LA the tv network that had promised me they would help my talk show become nationally syndicated shut down.

I am also a mother to a now 17 years old son but when we moved here, he was only seven years old. Although my main goal was to have a successful talk show, I knew I needed to make money to support my family. That led me to an interview to act on a tv show that at the time was still in the pre-production stage. Thankfully, I got the job and I had the opportunity to work with some very talented and supportive  television professionals on a show called Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

I was really excited to be working in Hollywood but simultaneously, over 2000 miles away from us in Ferguson, MO, a black boy by the name of Mike Brown was extra judicially murdered by the Ferguson Police Department. Seeing Mike Brown’s lifeless body laying in the middle of the street shook me to my core. It made me fearful for my own son but eventually that fear turned into the desire to prevent my son and other Black people from having the same demise as Mike Brown.

That activated me to get involved in social media activism. This was just a way of educating my community about some of the injustices that happen to us everyday and developing relationships with other community members who shared the same fight as me. Soon after, I took my activism off of social media and onto the front lines, where we created a movement. I’m proud to say that I’m one of the first leaders to emerge from the Black Lives Matter Movement.

I remember when we first began to challenge the Los Angeles Police Department about their brutality and extra judicial killings. One action in particular was called Occupy LAPD. We decided to camp outside of the LAPD Headquarters with a list of demands after the autopsy results in Ezell Ford’s murder were released and showed that the Officers who killed him shot him in his back, at point blank range. The Officer shot Ezell at such a close range that the muzzle print of his gun was burned into Ezell’s body. While I was engaging in this action, it dawned on me that my heart was not in television and film but instead was in helping my community fight against oppression. So I decided that in order for me to truly be impactful in my community, I needed to go to law school.

As mentioned above, I studied Broadcast Journalism at MTSU. My sophomore year, I met a man, fell in love, had a baby, and then moved to Europe to be a family. I dropped out without a degree and because of this, I was unsure of how I would accomplish my goal of getting into law school. However, I continued to organize and fight in my community and one day, someone came along with some information that changed my life. I was being interviewed by a reporter and shared with her my dream of obtaining a legal education but I also shared the fact that since I was a college dropout, it was likely impossible. The reporter then told me about a law school called People’s College of Law. She told me that they accept students who have completed 60 hours of undergrad and that she thought that due to my activism, I was a great candidate.

I took her advice and applied and to my surprise, they accepted me. PCL was not accredited, so after completing my 1L year of law school, I had to sit for an exam known as the Baby Bar. I passed the Baby Bar, and then I transferred to an accredited Law School, which is now my Alma Mater, Trinity Law School. In May of 2021, I graduated with my Juris Doctor Degree and immediately began to make plans regarding how I would show up for my community with this new information and skillset first.

Policy is very important to us all. Historically, laws have been passed to harm, oppress, and disenfranchise Black and Brown people. I believe that if we position ourselves to be in legal positions of power, we can write laws that are fair, just, and empowering to Black and Brown people as well. If we put ourselves in legal positions of power, we might also be able to change our judicial system for the better and govern ourselves with love and concern for one another. Because of these things, I decided to take a leap of courage and run for Mayor of Inglewood, CA.

I want to be Mayor because I love my community and want to help my constituents have the best quality of life they can possibly have. I want to be Mayor because I know that with my unique skill set, education, and background, I am capable of turning Inglewood into a City Government that elevates the voices and meets the needs of our residents. I believe that our current leadership has neglected our constituency and they have also engaged in corruption and the breaking of laws far too long. It is time for change, a new perspective, and fresh ideas, and I hope to be the catalyst of that change.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
No, I wouldn’t say my journey has been smooth. There have been plenty of bumps along the way. During my organizing days, I was constantly being criminalized by the LAPD. In 2016 the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted me, alleging that I “Obstructed Justice,” stemming from a protest that they claim I organized. Thankfully the jury did not agree and I was acquitted. Getting into law school was a struggle and I later found out that there was an undercover police officer in my law school interview at Peoples College of Law. I still don’t understand what the motive of that act was.

I love public service work and understand government and the law well. I am confident that when I am elected Mayor, I will do a great job in that role. However, the political side is something I’m learning. I think it is unfortunate that in order to get this job, you have to be popular. This gives the incumbent or the candidate with the most money a huge advantage because they have the finances to make people see and hear their name. On the other hand, you have grassroots candidates, like myself, that come directly from the community, who are fighting to be the voice of the community and are not backed by big corporate dollars. I am running my campaign purely off of donated resources and Volunteers but that has not slowed down my progress.

I have also been faced with people doing illegal things in an attempt to sabotage my chances of becoming Mayor. For example, the CA Secretary of State’s Office recently contacted me and informed me that a package they sent me via the United States Postal Service containing a very important file was intercepted. Tampering with USPS mail is a Federal Offense and this matter is currently under investigation. Prayerfully, the culprits will be found and prosecuted under the law to the fullest extent.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an actress, host, and print model who has been transitioning into public service work for the past eight years. I say I’ve been transitioning into public service work because all of the work I’ve done in public service thus far has been as a Volunteer. When I am elected Mayor, this will be my first paid public service job. I am now a legal professional, working with clients on a diverse range of legal issues. I am also a 2022 Legal Fellow with Law 4 Black Lives. Law 4 Black Lives is a national community of radical lawyers and legal workers who are committed to transforming the law and building the power of organizing to defend, protect, and advance Black liberation across the globe. Besides that, I’m in the community everyday listening to the needs of Inglewood residents and connecting them to various resources.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I enjoy listening to Antonio Moore on Tone Talks and Yvette Carnell on Breaking Brown. I find their research to be very informative. I also Moderate a Women’s group centered around African Spirituality and learning with these women has been a great help for me. Also, I would recommend a book called The Core of Fire by Aina Olomo.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.FredrishaDixon.com
• Instagram: @MsShaDixon and @DixonForMayor
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shadixon
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dixon4Inglewood and https://twitter.com/ShaDixon