Mim Shapiro

Culver City has lost one of it’s most passionate and active citizens with the death of Mim Shapiro. The long time Blair Hills resident was a fixture of the local political scene. She passed on March 12, 2018.

Mim and her husband Hank contributed their energy to the city in many ways for over 60 years. Involved in CC Sister City, the ART Group, the Democratic Club, Temple Akiba, Ballona Creek Renaissance, Civic Activism, Anti-fraking activism, CCUSD, CC Public Art Commission, CC Senior Center, and more. 

Her passing ends a marriage of 71 years.  A lifelong artist, she used the arts to empower youth at risk, contribute to ecological restoration and improve primary and secondary education. Her passion for social justice and learning burned brightly throughout her life. When Blair Hills was integrating in the early 1970s, Mim worked tirelessly to welcome African American families and counter blockbusting that sought to convince white families to flee the neighborhood. Blair Hills remains a successfully integrated neighborhood to this day.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Mim served as the chair of the arts commission in Culver City and helped lead the effort to form the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook park in lieu of luxury housing development. She was active in the Temple Akiba community and sang in the choir for close to fifty years. Discouraged to pursue Bat Mitzvah as a young woman, Mim studied Torah and attained Bat Mitzvah at age 62 years of age. She raised two children. Her daughter Reba was an artist who passed away due to cancer at 50 years old. Her son is an educator and anthropologist. She welcomed into the family a daughter (in-law), an anthropologist and social justice advocate.
She is survived by her husband Henry (Hank) Shapiro, her son Richard Shapiro, her daughter-law Angana P. Chatterji, her sister Edith Joyce, her brother Marvin, and a large and loving extended family and community of friends. 
Photo credit Wende Museum archive

 

The Actors' Gang

1 Comment

  1. thank you. She was a blessing for everyone’s lives she touched. RIP Mimmie.

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