Watts Towers

The Watts Towers

1727 East 107th St

Los Angeles, CA

Watts is a neighborhood typically associated with a strong African American presence however, Mexican Americans (and other Latin Americans) have always been an integral part of the community, as evidenced by the Watts Towers.

The Watts Riot began on August 11, 1965 when Marquette Frye, and African American resident, was pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving. A crowd gathered and observed what many believed was excessive force on the part of the arresting officers. When the police left the scene, neighborhood residents began throwing sticks and empty bottles at passing cars and the situation slowly escalated into a full-blown riot (Adam Matei, Sorin, and Sandra Ball-Rokeach 301). Stores and buildings were looted and burned and the national guard was eventually called in (Adam Matei, Sorin, and Sandra Ball-Rokeach 302).

According to historian Donna Murch “Whites owned nearly all of the business that demonstrators attacked, and tellingly, those with reputations for fair pricing and ties to the community stood untouched, as did the spiraling modernist Watts Towers that became synonymous with community pride, Black Power, and Black Arts” (Murch). Interestingly enough, not only is the real name for the Watts Towers “Nuestro Pueblo,” Spanish for “our town,” the neighborhood is currently roughly 60% Hispanic and about 40% black (Zabar).

Inside the Watts Towers. Photo by Andrew Lee, Daniel Villa and Cami Devoney.

At the time the towers were being built (from 1921-1954), the majority of the neighborhood residents were black, although there were also Mexican, Japanese, Italian, Jewish, and “those not welcome in other places” (Zabar). The sculptor of the Towers, Italian-American Simon Rodia, relied on contributions of broken dishes and cups from the community and according to Kai EL Zabar, one of the Watts Tower Arts Center experts, the reason that there has been no vandalism or destruction of the Towers is because Rodia respected the community and the community respected him (Zabar).

However, at present the Watts Towers are a point of disconnect between the art education (and therefore appreciation) of its visitors and that of the surrounding community. Currently, about 70% of visitors to the Watts Towers are international tourists and LACMA (whose visitors are 70-75% Angelinos) has begun bussing some of its museumgoers to the Watts Towers. Yet, in the midst of all this, the immediate community of Watts remains fairly ignorant to the piece of art and its historic significance (Zabar).

This discrepancy follows the historical pattern of disconnect between the education of Mexican-American (and other minority) communities in contrast to more wealthy, white communities. On March 3, 1968 over a thousand students at the predominantly Mexican-American Los Angeles school, Abraham Lincoln High School walked out of their classes in protest of “racist school policies and teachers” and the lack “classes on Mexican American history and culture” (Muñoz 64). Today, since the local schools have long ago removed art and art appreciation classes from the system, the Watts Towers Arts Center attempts to close the gap by encouraging—though not imposing—piano, acting, photography, and other art classes for those in the surrounding community who are interested (Zabar).

Simon Rodia, creator of the Watts Towers. Source: wattstowers.us

Directions: The Watts Towers are situated almost directly south of the USC campus in the Watts neighborhood

Works Cited

Adam Matei, Sorin, and Sandra Ball-Rokeach. "Watts, The 1965 Los Angeles Riots, And The Communicative Construction Of The Fear Epicenter Of Los Angeles." Communication Monographs 72.3 (2005): 301-323. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 21 Apr. 2012.

Muñoz, Carlos. Youth, Identity, Power: The Chicano Movement. London: Verso, 2007.

Murch, Donna. "The Many Meanings of Watts: Black Power, Wattstax, and the Carceral State." Organization of American Historians Magazine of History 26.1 (2012): 37-40. Oxford Journals. Web. 21 Apr. 2012.

Zabar, Kai EL. Personal interview. 15 Apr. 2012.

Submitted by Cami Devoney, Daniel Villa and Andrew Lee

The Kesington House - Echo Park

Echo Park – The Kensington House

1098 W. Kensington Dr.

Los Angeles, CA 90011

In the turn of the 20th Century Echo Park would be the precursor of Hollywood, and it since has been the set location for various films and TV shows; however, Echo Park has always had a rich and controversial history that include white flight, gang violence, radicalism, and gentrification. The Kensington house serves as a symbolic metaphor of the community.

In Echo Park, where the Kensington House is located.

Echo Park’s history of radicalism can be traced to the early 1900s. When Ricardo Flores Magón and his brothers built the Edendale Commune on the border of Echo Park & Silver Lake. The Magón brothers led the Partido Liberal Mexicano (PLM). Until they were arrested in their commune and in prisoned. During the 50s the hills of Echo Park were called Red Hill, because many who were blacklisted lived there.

Two films that take place in Echo Park are “Mi Vida Loca”(1993), was about Chicano gangbangers and “La Quinceañera” (2006), was about young girl who wanted much more than what her family was capable of providing, for her quinceañera. She’s forced to grow up when she gets pregnant at the age of 14. These two issues, Gangbanging and teenage pregnancies, are stereotypes that are associated with inner city Mexican Americans.

Immigrants have made Echo Park their home creating ethnic enclave. The Lotus Festival, which celebrates Asian and Pacific Islander communities, and the Cuban Music Festival take place in Echo Park.

Spanish newspaper, La Opinion wrote an article titled “Un lugar para comenzar de nuevo: Echo Park; oportunidad para todos en una comunidad multicultural” which translates to “A place to start over: Echo Park; opportunity for everyone in a multicultural community.” In many ways that is what the house represented. Echo Park was 60% occupied by newly arrived immigrants, in 1997, mostly from Latin America as well as some overflow from poorer sections of Chinatown. (Klein) Now Echo Park has a 53.1% of foreign residents of those 41.3% are from Mexico and 15.2% are from El Salvador. (LATimes)

Gentrification is the phase that the community is currently on. It’s relevance stems from the economic power to erase the community that existed before. Historically, Americans have moved away from working-class and poor neighborhoods as soon as their economic situation allowed them to do so, and move into the suburbs. (Nevarez) Gentrification is the process of going back into the inner city’s displacing the members of the community that can no longer afford it, and forced to move into other neighborhoods that can be worse off.

Its upgrades are subtle, as the outside of the house doesn’t look like it has changed much, once a private home now a private gallery. (Kirkland)  Another community displaced, and the process will be replicated somewhere else.

Work Cited

Klein, Norman M. The History of Forgetting: Los Angeles and the Erasure of Memory. London: Verso, 1997. Print.

De, la C. "Un Lugar Para Comenzar De Nuevo: Echo Park; Oportunidad Para Todos En Una Comunidad Multicultural." La Opinión: 1B. Ethnic NewsWatch; Latin American Newsstand. Jul 29 1996. Web. 22 Apr. 2012 .

"Echo Park." Mapping L.A. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://projects.latimes.com/mapping-la/neighborhoods/neighborhood/echo-park/>.

Kirkland, LeTania. "Make Way For Art: Historic Home Doubles as Modern Gallery - Echo Park-Silver-Lake, CA Patch." Echo Park-Silver Lake Patch. Http://echopark.patch.com/, 27 Jan. 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://echopark.patch.com/articles/make-way-for-art-historic-home-doubles-as-modern-gallery>.

Magon, Ricardo F., Charles Bufe, and Mitchell Cowen. Verter. Dreams of Freedom: A Ricardo Flores Magón Reader. Oakland, CA: AK, 2005. Print.

Nevarez, Leonard. "Gentrification." Encyclopedia of Community. Ed. . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2003. 544-48. SAGE Reference Online. Web. 22 Apr. 2012.

Phillips, Martin. "Gentrification." Encyclopedia of Geography. Ed. Barney Warf. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2010. 1203-09. SAGE Reference Online. Web. 22 Apr. 2012.

Submitted by Daniel Villa, Andrew Lee and Cami Devoney

Casa Del Mexicano

Photo Credit: Fabian S.

An abstract mural that wraps around all of the interior walls at Casa del Mexicano. Various images depict Chicano history while others depicts suffering in general, such as this image. 

Photo Credit: Fabian S.

This is an image of the current condition of Casa del Mexicano. It is surrounded by local homes that line up the street leading to the building. 

Location: Casa del Mexicano

Address: 2900 Calle Pedro Infante, Los Angeles, 90063

Directions: Take the I-10 E, Take Exit 13a for San Bernardino/Santa Ana, Merge onto I-10E/Santa Monica Fwy, Take Exit for 4^th St, Right on Euclid, Right on Pedro Infante

Casa del Mexicano, tucked away in a small cul de sac in Boyle Heights, was once considered a mecca of Mexican culture in Los Angeles. It was established in 1904 as a Methodist Church which later became a synagogue and catered to the needs of the large Jewish population that inhabited Boyle Heights.  It wasn’t until 1931 that Casa del Mexicano came to be. Under the direction of the Mexican Consulate, Casa del Mexicano became Los Angeles’ first cultural centered catered to the needs of the Mexican community. In addition to providing services to the surrounding community and being a place where children could come and learn about Mexican history in order to familiarize themselves with their roots, Casa del Mexicano served as the premier location of Mexican culture in Los Angeles for many years. Dignitaries, actors and other important figures from Mexico and Spain could congregate in this building to enjoy beauty pageants, cultural exhibits and theatre displays. 

Casa del Mexicano was in essence “a sentinel of Mexican culture in Los Angeles” which drew everyone to visit it, including the President of Mexico during its days of glory. During the last few years, however, the Casa del Mexicano has fallen from what it once was and entered a period of decay. Renovation efforts have been led under the guidance of the Comite de Beneficiencia Mexicana, a non-profit organization. These include a revamping of the center’s programming available to the public, as well as a renovation of the location itself. One of the center’s most prominent additions is a mural which covers every inch of the center’s interior which was created by Teocatl, a Mexican muralist who has made the place his home while he works.

           

Management at Casa del Mexicano remains shaky nowadays. Most recently, the center was placed up for auction after accusations were made against its management. Advocates of the center’s preservation are seeking investors who will support the center, but the future of Casa del Mexicano remains unclear for now. (LA Times)

Submitted by: Ale C., Monica C., Fabian S.  

Sources

Bermudez, Esmeralda. “Auction of Landmark Casa del Mexicano is Delayed.” 26 February 2011. LA Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/26/local/la-me-casa-del-mexicano-20110226

Bermudez, Esmeralda. “A Boyle Heights cultural landmark has a vivid past and an iffy future.” 15 February 2011. LA Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/15/local/la-me-casa-del-mexicano-20110215

Bermudez, Esmeralda. “New Life for an Old Gem in Boyle Heights.” 31 July 2008. LA Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-casa31-2008jul31,0,4789711.story

Estrada Courts

Photo Credit: Fabian S.

A mural of some of the most famous people in Mexican and Chicano history painted on one of the housing complexes within the Estrada Courts that exists today.

Location: Estrada Courts

Address: 3232 Estrada Street, Los Angeles, CA 90023

Directions: Take the I-10 E, Exit on Santa Fe Ave, Left on E Olympic Blvd, Left on San Grande Vista Ave, Right on Estrada Street.

The Estrada Courts housing projects in Boyle Heights were constructed near the end of 1941. A newspaper article from that time states they were originally designed for “one of the City Housing Authority’s 10 slum-clearance and low-rent dwelling projects” (LA Times) but were instead use to house the families of those who worked in the defense industries given the events happening at the time. In the 1970s the Estrada Courts gained popularity due to its murals. Chicano art had gained ground since the 1960s as a means to express the struggles of the Chicana/o community while promoting a sense of ethnic pride and political activism (Arreola 410). 

By 1973, the Estrada Courts boasted 39 murals with depictions ranging from Pre-Columbian history of the Americas to the militant activism of the Chicano movement. Near the end of the 20^th century, however, this housing project had become a breeding ground for violence and gang activity, negatively impacting the quality of life the residents living in the area. Other housing projects impacted by the violence such as Aliso Village and Pico Gardens were demolished to pave the way for re-development projects, leaving many individuals homeless.

Efforts to renovate the area ensured rapidly. Organizations such as TELACU spearheaded investment programs which allowed individuals living in the Estrada Courts housing projects the opportunity to work for a fair wage and engage in the reconstruction of their homes. The people of Estrada Courts also established the Estrada Courts- Resident Management Corporation around that time with the goal of providing social services to the residents of the area as well as advocating for their needs. In recent years, efforts have been made to restore many of the murals which illuminate the walls of the housing projects throughout the Estrada Courts area. As of March 2012, the Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles was eyeing 13 of the 54 surviving murals for restoration due to their historical importance as landmarks of the Latina/o community of Los Angeles (KCET).

Submitted by: Ale C., Monica C., Fabian S.  


Sources

"Housing Project Ceremony Set." Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File): A6. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Los Angeles Times (1881-1988). Dec 07 1941. Web. 1 May 2012.

Arreola, Daniel D.  “Mexican American Exterior Murals.” Geographical Review, Vol. 74, No. 4 (Oct., 1984), pp. 409-424. American Geographical Society.http://www.jstor.org/stable/215024

Fuentes, Ed. “Restored Estrada Courts Mural to be Rededicated.” 8 March 2012. KCET. http://www.kcet.org/socal/departures/landofsunshine/arts/murals/estrada-courts-mural-to-be-rededicated.html

Lincoln High School

Photo Credit: Ale C.

A mural on one of the main buildings at Abraham Lincoln High School that depicts Chicano history.  

Photo Credit: Ale C.

The plaza in front of the school that has recently been renamed Castro Courts at the request of the students.

Photo Credit: Ale C.

A display within the high school commemorating Cesar Chavez and the high schools political involvement/legacy.

Abraham Lincoln High School is located at 3501 N. Broadway Ave. in Los Angeles Califronia in the area known as Lincoln Heights. This high school was opened in 1878, however the present school was officially fully constructed in the 1940s. This site was chosen because there was so much history that the school had been a part of and so many generations of Mexican-Americans have received their education at that school.  On March 1, 1968, the students participated in the East LA walkouts or "blowouts" the largest and lengthiest in the history of California.  Over 10,000 students decided to take a stance and walkout of their schools, which resulted in thousands of students leaving their classrooms to join the protest for quality. Five East Los Angeles high schools coordinated to walkout on the same day at the same time during classes. Lincoln High school was one of the five East Los Angeles high schools that participated in the walkouts. The reason was the mistreatment at their schools and repression of their culture.  This lead to a riot and police involvement included violence on behalf of the law when the students were not acting in a violent matter.

One of the teachers that were a big part of the movement was Sal Castro. He was a teacher at Lincoln high school and was promoting the equality of Chicano students in the school system as well as encouraging students to achieve higher education. This was of high importance since about one third of the student body was Chicano. Sal Castro was supported by the Educational Issues Coordinating Committee (EDICC), which helped organize the students and other people in the community to help empower the Chicano people. Because Sal Castro was involved in the EDICC, he was displaced from teaching out of fear that he was influencing the students to rebel against the school. Regardless the students organized the walkouts as a form to seek equality. At the same time the students were protesting to get Castro’s teaching position back at Lincoln High School, which he did.

The current school, although there isn’t the same level of activism, still strives to teach the students not only the history of the school but the history of their community. The school is now divided into different schools that focus on different areas of teaching topics. Such schools include: Humanities school of Arts and Media, Math, Science, and Technology Magnet, & Victory Over Ignorance through Culture and Education amongst others. This gives the students the opportunity to belong to a community and feel that they belong. The Victory Over Ignorance through Culture and Education, the students focus more on culture, activism and Chicano Studies. Although Los Angeles Unified School District does not provide a structured curriculum for Chicano Studies, the teachers try their best to come up with their own curriculum to teach students the history of Chicanos, in their school and community.

There are also physical reminders of what happened on campus. One is the mural at the top of the school auditorium, which was painted by M.E.Ch.A at the time and demonstrates the history of the Chicano people. Although it is hard to distinguish what exactly is on the mural, it is a daily reminder of what had happened in the school. Additionally in 2011, the students gathered a petition to rename the entrance of the school Castro Courts, in honor of Sal Castro.

Submitted by: Ale C., Monica C., Fabian S.  

Sources

Bernal, Dolores Delgado (1998) Grassroots Leadership Reconceptualized: Chicana Oral Histories and the 1968 East Los Angeles School Blowouts. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies , Vol. 19, No. 2, Varieties of Women's Oral History (1998), pp. 113-142

 López, Ian F. Haney (Nov., 2001). Protest, Repression, and Race: Legal Violence and the Chicano Movement, 205-244 University of Pennsylvania Law Review

Vol. 150, No. 1

 Rosen, (1973). The development of the Chicano movement in Los Angeles from 1967 to 1969. Aztlan, 4(1), 155.

Placita de Dolores – Bell of Dolores

Photo Taken By: Steph S. and Laylani D. 

Placita de Dolores – Bell of Dolores

Address Location: 125 Paseo De La Plaza # 400 Los Angeles, CA 90012

           

On September 16^th, 1810, the Mexican revolution began with the country’s people, consisting of Mestizos, Mexican-born Spaniards, and others, declaring liberation from Spain. This day marked the beginning of Mexico’s history and represents the beginning of the country and its citizens’ journey toward freedom through resistance during the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821). However, none of Mexico’s liberation could have been accomplished without the leadership of Miguel Hidalgo, a Catholic priest and commander of the revolution against the Spanish and the Royalist supporters. He ordered the church bells in Dolores, Guanajuato, to be rung at six o’clock in the afternoon on September 16th, 1810. The bell’s ringing signified the moment his followers were to gather and begin its revolt against Spain’s monarchy rule. This significant moment established the tradition of “El Grito.” Every year, to honor this day, the President of Mexico rings the bell in Mexico City and belches a cry representing his and his country’s patriotism and liberation.  

To commemorate the day of the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence, the Republic of Mexico gave a replica of the bell Hidalgo to the United States. The replica bell is located at the Placita de Dolores in Downtown Los Angeles. The bell’s presence in the Downtown area represents an important connection of Mexico and the United States. The monument not only connects the two countries together, but their citizens’ as well. For the millions of Mexicans and Mexican Americans within the Los Angeles and Southern California area, the presence of the bell provides a remainder of their country’s and their ancestor’s patriotism and heritage. However, the bell also represents the connection of Mexico to other non- Mexican Americans in the United States as well. Both countries fought for their independence against their ruling monarchies, the British and Spanish. Like the bell of Hidalgo, the United States has its own bell to represent its liberation, the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Like the liberators of Mexico, such as Miguel Hidalgo, America has the likes of George Washington and the other Founding Fathers as its liberators. After each country’s resistance and independence, their governments established a democracy that still reign today.

Submitted by: Steph S. Laylani D. 

Sources:

"Placita De Dolores, Olvera Street, Los Angeles." Public Art in Los Angeles and

Southern California/Cultural Los Angeles. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://www.publicartinla.com/UnionStation/placita.html>.

"Mexican Independence." Texas A&M University. Web. 24 Apr. 2012.

<http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/mexicanrev.htm>.

“Eduardo Carillo: Father Hidalgo rang the bell of Dolores.” Los Angeles Murals. Web. 24

Apr. 2012.

<http://www.lamurals.org/MuralFiles/Downtown/FatherHidalgo.html>.

Chavez Ravine/ Dodger Stadium

Photo Taken By: Laylani D. and Steph S.

Photography By: Paul Prejza/ Source: University of Southern California Libraries.

This photo is an aerial view of Chavez Ravine, looking west, circa 1940. 

Chavez Ravine (Present Site: Dodger Stadium)

Address Location: 1000 Elysian Park Ave.  Los Angeles, California 90012

Chavez Ravine was named in honor of city Councilman Juan Chavez during the 1850s. The area first acted as a poor settler’s burial ground during the outbreaks of smallpox in 1850 and 1880. However, as local farms began being established within the region, with animals for the county being quarantined there, Mexican immigrants and other immigrant laborers unable to afford property settled in the region. By World War II, immigrants and other Americans established small houses throughout the ravine, along the hillsides, and into the valley. However, with the growing number of immigrants living within the area, many Anglo whites deemed the area to be “blemish” for the modern Los Angeles. While a majority of those who emigrated to Chavez Ravine were of Mexican descent, some families also derived from Italy and other parts of central Europe. Nearly 40% of those living in Chavez Ravine owned their homes with 1,400 of the residents being foreign born.

In the late 1940s, after World War II, the residents of Palo Verde, Bishop Canyon, and La Loma, the three communities collectively know as Chavez Ravine, discovered that through a housing project they would be compelled to relocate. Some of the families living in the ravine had lived there for generations with the community being home to over 1,000 families. Prior to the housing project, residents petitioned the city to improve their community, with the installment of streetlights, pave streets, and public transportation. Such additions added to the community’s success of becoming a multigenerational Mexican barrio. Local children and juveniles attended schools at a higher rate and crime within their youth decreased. All of the residents’ attempts to build their community ended when the city declared Chavez Ravine to be “a blighted area.” The Los Angles city administration took advantage of the 1949 Housing Act, in which it applied for over 100 million dollars in federal funding to construct 10,000 units of “low rent public housing” located in 11 different sites throughout the city. Chavez Ravine was one of the sites selected. 

                                                     

Photograph By: Hugh Arnott/ Source: Los Angeles Times

May 8, 1959: Los Angeles County Sheriff’s physically remove Aurora Vargas. Her family refused to relocate from their home located in Chavez Ravine.

                                                               

Mexican American residents of Chavez Ravine knew that while the city would build low rent public housing, they would be excluded from such units. With residential segregation, insufficient affordable housing, and the prohibiting of Mexican Americans from housing developments, it would be nearly impossible for residents to find new homes. Residents of Chavez Ravine thus protested the housing project with the City Center District Improvement Association (CCDIA), a community organization of Chavez Ravine, acting as the resident’s defenders to keep their homes. However, in the end, residents left, either “voluntarily” or forcibly (as seen in photo above). While some families remained to fight the battle, local police physically removed the last family in May 1959. The residents’ actions to protest against the violation of Mexican Americans’ civil rights became known as the battle of Chavez Ravine, a symbol of Latino activism. Los Angeles sold the land of what was Chavez Ravine to the Brooklyn Dodgers, thus becoming the site of what is now Dodger stadium.

Photograph By: Hugh Arnott/ Source: Los Angeles Times

May 13, 1959: Victoria Angustian stands above her infant son Ira, as her oldest daughter, Ivy, sweeps the steps to their trailer home. Her family, consisting of three generations, including her husband Manuel Angustian and family matriarch Avrana Arechiga (seated), live in the trailer home after bulldozers destroyed their Chavez Ravine home.

For additional photos of the Chavez Ravine evictions, please visit Los Angeles Times Photography Framework at http://framework.latimes.com/2012/04/04/chavez-ravine-evictions/#/0.

                                                                          

Submitted by: Steph S. and Laylani De La Vega

Sources:

Becerra, Hector. “Decades later, bitter memories of Chavez Ravine.” Los Angeles Times.

05 Apr. 2012. http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/05/local/la-me-adv-chavez-ravine-20120405.

López, Ronald W. “Community resistance and conditional patriotism in cold war Los

Angeles; The battle for Chavez Ravine.” Latino Studies 7.4, Winter 2009: 457-479.

Los Angeles Times.

http://framework.latimes.com/2012/04/04/chavez-ravine-evictions/#/0.

Obregón Pagán, Eduardo. “Los Angeles Geopolitics and the Zoot Suit Riot, 1943.” Social

Science History 24.1, 2000: 223-256.

University of Southern California Libraries.

http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/search/controller/view/chs-m2270.html?x=1335909008738.

University Village

The University Village
3129 Hoover St.
Los Angeles, CA 90007

The University Village. Photo by Andrew Lee, Cami Devoney, and Daniel Villa.

This site is currently a focus of USC’s ongoing “Master Plan” to provide “a visionary framework for the physical development of the campus and the prosperity of its surrounding community in the coming years” (“Master Planning for the University Park Campus”). USC’s plans for improvement in fact, fall within the definition of gentrification, the process in which a middle-class segment expands into an urban setting “for a consumption-oriented lifestyle” (“Gentrification”).

Although USC claims it has a great interest in “working closely with its neighbors in respectful partnership” ("Master Planning for the University Park Campus") and that the retail development that will take place after the probable destruction of Superior Grocers and University Village will serve “both the campus and the broader community” (“University Park Campus Master Plan”) the website explaining the USC Master Plan does not detail how it will account for the difference in retail needs between USC and the general community.

In addition, many neighborhood residents do not feel involved in the development process. As of 2009, the community surrounding USC was majority “Hispanic or Latino” at 50% (which is a slight increase from 2000, when the population was roughly 45% “Hispanic or Latino”) (Te, Gary, Edith Lopez, Sheila Nem, and Doug Smith). United Neighbors in Defense Against Displacement (UNIDAD) is a campaign that lobbies for “future development of South LA that includes and benefits all members of the community” (“Platform”). UNIDAD’s publicly available video footage presents the opinion of various community members who feel the University is making changes at the expense of local residents rather than in collaboration.

In fact, many of the interviewees express the notion that, since such a well-respected university is behind this impending neighborhood remodeling, if approached from the correct angle, the plan could provide invaluable resources to local residents. However, the problem remains that even though there is a “community that wants to truly be a participating part of the entire package,” USC has not taken many of the community members’ opinions into consideration (“Community Voices”).

Superior Market at the University Village will be demolished in the renovation. Photo by Andrew Lee, Cami Devoney and Daniel Villa.

According to the article by Gilda Haas about South Central Los Angeles, not only do the increasing cost of living and the University development force the local residents out of their homes, “the pervasive common sense by the new person on the street is that it's those poor people and their homes that have got to go” (Haas). This is a sentiment that is disturbingly reminiscent of the national immigration debate and those in support of deportation of Mexican immigrants and one that will persist if the community’s voices are not heeded before the Master Plan proceeds.

Directions: University Village is the shopping center adjacent to the north end of USC’s University Park campus

Works Cited

"Community Voices." UNIDAD. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. <http://unidadla.org/community>.

"Gentrification." Current Sociology 43.1 (1995): 173-82. Sage Journals. Web. 22 Apr. 2012.

Haas, Gilda. "Inequality, Gentrification, & the Right to the City." Peacework 2009: 4-5. ProQuest Religion; ProQuest Research Library. Web. 22 Apr. 2012 .

"Master Planning for the University Park Campus." University of Southern California. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://www.usc.edu/community/upcmasterplan/>.

"Platform." UNIDAD. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. <http://unidadla.org/platform>.

Te, Gary, Edith Lopez, Sheila Nem, and Doug Smith. "USC and The Surrounding Neighborhood: Transit Oriented Development, Affordable Housing and Fair Housing." (2011). Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://164.67.121.27/files/UP/USC_Final%20Report.pdf>.

"University Park Campus Master Plan." University of Southern California. 30 Jan. 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://www.usc.edu/community/upcmasterplan/draft_master_plan/potential/>.

Submitted by Cami Devoney, Andrew Lee and Daniel Villa

Robert F. Kennedy Inspiration Park

Robert F. Kennedy Inspiration Park

3400 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA

The Robert. F Kennedy Inspiration Park opened to the public on Nov. 20th, 2010. It provides space for eating lunch, playing chess and quiet relaxation.

Robert F. Kennedy was a politician that rallied for human rights and became the voice of the people. The Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools, which was once the Ambassador Hotel, was the site of Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination on June 5^th 1968. A large marble memorial piece with Robert F. Kennedy’s portrait and quotes are displayed at the front of the schools gates facing Wilshire.  The public park provides much-needed green space to one of Los Angeles' most dense urban neighborhoods.  The Kennedy Inspiration Park occupies a 19,000-square-foot section of the site fronting Wilshire Boulevard.  The following Robert F. Kennedy quote is displayed on the Wilshire side of the school:

“Few will have the greatness to bend history, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all  of this generation, it is from the numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is thus shaped, each time a person stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, it sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweet down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

Robert F. Kennedy at his last speech on June 5^th, 1968 at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Kennedy was addressing his campaign supporters in the Embassy Room of the hotel. Source: Time Life Pictures

Cesar Chavez meets with Robert F. Kennedy after a hunger strike in support of the United Farm Workers Union. Source: Time Life Pictures

This quote is taken from the Day of Affirmation Address he gave in South Africa in 1966, and it’s a perfect reflection of Kennedy’s achievements as a politician. Robert F. Kennedy played a significant role in fighting for civil rights and fought for equality until the day of his assassination. He is known for encouraging groups to make an active voice in the community confront the country’s political parties and to fight for what’s right. Kennedy showed his supported Cesar Chavez the Mexican-American United Farm Workers Union in 1965. The farm workers were able to eventually reach an agreement acknowledging their demands in 1970. He was favored by the Mexican-American community for his passionate support and activism for Chicano rights.

 “He walked the streets of the barrio in East Los Angeles, he broke the fast with Cesar Chavez in Delano, and he committed himself to alter the conditions of poverty and discrimination in this country,” John F. Kennedy said. It is speculated that the strong Mexican-American support for Robert F. Kennedy helped him win the California primary in 1960. Throughout the Southwest were Mexican-American support groups and “Viva Kennedy Clubs” that rallied for his presidency. RFK entered the presidential race by opposing the Vietnam war and advocating for the poor and support of minority rights.To this day, Robert F. Kennedy remains a symbol for civil rights and racial equality – awards, monuments and cites are dedicated to his name for his role in fighting for human rights and fair job opportunities.  

A map of the schools within the 90005 Zip Code, near the RFK Community Schools. Source: LA Times Neighborhoods

The school was $578 million to develop, making it the nation’s most expensive public school. It accommodates 4200 students. The school is six stories tall and still has some iconic pieces of the Ambassador Hotel preserved – including the famous Cocoanut Grove room. The area is not 53.5% Latino, 32.2% Asian, and 7.4% white. There are 45 other private schools and public schools within a 2 mile radius of the RFK Community Schools Location. Kennedy's legacy is honored in several other public art pieces inside the school. There is a major installation at the entry to the library, a mural in the library and a mural at the foot of an amphitheater.

The school serves as a memorial dedicated to Robert F. Kennedy’s achievements and fight for political justice. On Wilshire, the memorial walls and portrait of Kennedy is called the “Robert F. Kennedy Inspiration Park.” The architects of the school explained that the goal was to not only provide a state-of-the-art school facility, but to also be a community-serving institution that will enrich and inspire the neighborhood. Although there was strong opposition to the demolition of the Ambassador Hotel, the memorial park, preservation of Ambassador Hotel icons, and large open park has been able to calm the neighborhood's arguments and protest. Robert F. Kennedy's support for the Mexican-American community and “Chicano Movement” in the 1960’s, and his high spirit of hope and inspiration, will be forever remembered with the name of the school and the memorial park.

Sources Cited:

Clarke, Thurston (2008). The last campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 days that inspired America. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

Kennedy, Robert F., Kennedy, Maxwell Taylor, ed., Make Gentle the Life of This World: The Vision of Robert F. Kennedy, Orlando, FL: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

L.A. Times Neighborhoods

Newfield, Jack. (1969;1988). Robert Kennedy: A Memoir. Plume.

Submitted by Andrew Lee, Daniel Villa and Cami Devoney

South Central Community Farm

South Central Community Farm
S. Alameda St & E 41st St
Los Angeles, CA 90058

The fight to keep the South Central Farm is ongoing. The South Central Farm, with a plot of 14 acres, represented one of the largest urban farms and the struggles of its community with environmental justice, immigrant rights, human rights, and social and economic equality. South Los Angeles, formerly known as South Central Los Angeles, is known by its rich history of ethnic culture & struggle.

The community of South Los Angeles was once predominantly African American, but is now predominantly Hispanic and Latino. It also has one of the highest concentrations of Latino immigrants. After the L.A. Riots, ten plots of land were allocated to the community with the goal of them serving as a Farm and work force training center. This was the first step in reconstructing a city that had gone through a civil unrest that ended with a nearly $1 billion in economic loss.

The 14-acre plot in the middle of South Los Angeles was once a lush garden.

Source: Lane Barden

Ralph Horowitz, who owned the land, wanted the space to build an incinerator; however, the land was seized through eminent domain, and the city paid Horowitz approximately $5 million dollars. Juanita Tate’s organizations, Concerned Citizens of South Central, were crucial in stopping the trash incinerator from being built. Horowitz fought the city to regain ownership of the land, but lost the case three times. Then in 2003 a secret closed session settlement involving Jan Perry, the City Council of the district, was made and the land was sold back to Horowitz with the contingency that a portion of the land would be allocated for a soccer field. He repaid the city the $5 million dollars instead of the market value.

The Farm sustained production, reduced hunger, and fostered food justice by providing quantity food available to the community. By increasing the value of adjacent property, creating an alternative to city park, and creating a venue for them to organize and network, the space not only benefited the farmers, but the community as well. The community offered to buy the land from him, and in the beginning he agreed but at a larger price. He later refused the offer, and stated that he wouldn’t sell the land to the community at any price.

Growing anti-immigrant sentiments led for the bill H.R. 4437 was proposed. It would make felons of immigrants and those that provided services to them, and so the Latino Community had marching against. Protesting for the farm was not only a struggle for environmental and food access equality, but it was also a political symbol for the Latino community in Los Angeles.

In the end the struggle for the farms stems down to money and control. Privatization of open space and the criminality of immigrants and the poor is a way for urban elites to control practices that won’t deviate from the consumerist citizenship ethos.

Work Cited:

Irazábal, Clara, and Anita Punja. "Cultivating Just Planning And Legal Institutions: A Critical Assessment Of The South Central Farm Struggle In Los Angeles."Journal of Urban Affairs 31.1 (2009): 1-23. Print.

Texeira, M. T. "Film Review: The Garden: Eviction from Eden in South Central L.A."Teaching Sociology 38.4 (2010): 397-98. Print.

The Garden. Dir. Scott H. Kennedy. Perf. Danny Glover, Daryl Hannah, Antonio Villaraigosa, Jan Perry, Juanita Tate, and Members of the Community. Black Valley Films, 2008. Film. Netflix.com. Netflix, 6 June 2011. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/The_Garden/70100724?trkid=4213507>.

Weissman, Evan. "Urban Agriculture." Green Cities. Ed. Nevin Cohen, General Editor and Paul Robbins, Series Editor. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2010. 436-42. SAGE Reference Online. Web. 25 Apr. 2012.

Ambassador Hotel

 Photo Credit: http://www.theambassadorhotel.com/

This is an image of the Ambassador Hotel during its hey-day in the 1920s.

Photo Credit: Ale C.

The Robert Kennedy Community School that has been built over the site where the Ambassador Hotel once stood. 

Photo Credit: Michael Rouger/Time Life Pictures/Getty Images

 This is one of many images of Robert Kennedy with Cesar Chavez, which indicates that Kennedy was cognizant of the Mexican American/Chicano struggle and was sympathetic toward the fight for equal rights.

The Ambassador Hotel, as seen in the first image above, was located at 3400 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles. It was opened on January 1, 1921. The hotel became a Hollywood hotspot when it opened its premiere nightclub, Cocoanut Grove, in April of the same year. The hotel became famous not only for its famous clientele, but also because the 12^th annual Academy Awards were held there. Decades later, the hotel and nightclub were still as popular as ever. Unfortunately, the hotel no longer exists. It fell into decay after the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968. He had just given a victory speech in the hotel’s Embassy Ballroom after winning the California Primary when he was shot by Sirhan Sirhan.

The hotel was set for demolition after a long battle between the Los Angeles Unified School District and Sirhan Sirhan who wanted to clear his name with evidence from the scene of the crime. LAUSD won and the site is not home to the Robert Kennedy Community School. The school’s address is 701 S. Catalina Street, Los Angeles. In spite of the demolition, some elements of Myron Hunt’s famous hotel were incorporated into the new design including: the hotel’s legendary Coconut Grove, which is now a 582-seat theatre, the hotel’s 1940’s era Paul R. Williams-designed coffee shop which now serves as a teachers’ lounge, and the intricate vaulted ceiling of the hotel’s Embassy Ballroom which was reconstructed as the library for secondary students.

Of course, Robert F. Kennedy was an important and involved figure during the tumultuous 1960s. Kennedy was a supporter of Cesar Chavez during his fight to unionized and improve the conditions of millions of farm workers. While Chavez believed that the Democratic Party would help to improve his and his fellow farm workers’ livelihood, this was not the case for all Mexican Americans. Many were disappointed with the previous administration under the deceased John F. Kennedy who had promised to address the complaints of Mexican Americans to no fruition. In spite of this, Chavez still supported the Democratic Party and he went on to meet Kennedy on a handful of occasions. Unfortunately, Kennedy would not be able to advocate on behalf of Chavez or any minorities due to his untimely death.

Submitted by: Ale C., Monica C., Fabian S.  

Sources:

"The Ambassador Hotel and Cocoanut Grove." Hollywood USA. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://hollywoodusa.co.uk/ambassador-hotel.htm>.

“Historic and Design Significance.” Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://www.rfkcommunityschools.org/Information>.

Mariscal, Jorge. “Negotiating Cesar:  Cesar Chavez in the Chicano Movement.” Aztlán 29 (Spring 2004):  21-56.