Pete White is the Founder and Executive Director of the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LA CAN), a grassroots organization working to ensure the human right to housing, health and security are upheld in Los Angeles. Committed to the fight for human and civil rights, Pete believed he could do more for his community by becoming a community organizer and civil rights advocate to fight the social injustice and disparate treatment of Black and other marginalized communities of color. Pete’s activism has linked him with various local, national and international causes. 

Pete has educated and organized thousands of low-income people on a multitude of issues and human rights campaigns.  A lifetime resident of South Central Los Angeles, he is committed to fight for a Los Angeles that does not tolerate racial injustice, promotes an equitable distribution of resources, and includes everyone.  Pete believes that organizing and leadership development are essential tools needed to achieve social change and racial justice.

Pete’s success as a community organizer, speaker and strategist has led to numerous television and radio appearances as an analyst and commentator regarding civil and human rights issues. Pete is featured in the critically acclaimed film ‘Lost Angeles: Skid Row Is My Home’ and HBO’s docu-series: Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas. As a storyteller, he joined W. Kamau Bell’s “United Shades of America” to discuss poverty in the US and a way forward. He also appears in numerous other documentaries investigating housing justices, food justice, criminal justice reform, and broad-based human rights. Notably, he co-produced ‘Operation Skid Row’ a community festival linking cultural giants like Chuck D and Public Enemy with the work of local artists and organizations to expand the collective bandwidth to produce change.

Pete’s work in the international human rights arena has led to him hosting three UN Special Rapporteurs and informing their reports on U.S. compliance with international standards. His testimony, both oral and written, has led to investigations to address the human rights violations raised.

 As one of Los Angeles' steadfast organizers and strategist in movement work, Pete has facilitated and coordinated actions against police brutality and helped develop policy around bail reform in many of the fifty United States, including: Atlanta, Baltimore, California, Chicago, Detroit, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, and Washington. His work has been exported and replicated all across the nation and has assisted in changing the material conditions for populations adversely impacted by organized abandonment.