Walmart workers rally in South L.A.

April 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment


imageListen to the audio story from Annenberg Radio News:

Dan Hindman has an anniversary this week – with Walmart.

“I’ve worked at Walmart… on the 17th, that’s three years,” he said. To support his son and put himself through school, “I do a little of everything. I do a little LP sometimes, I work electronics, I play management at times… I do it all, dude.”

But despite all this history, he’s not happy about the stores springing up in Los Angeles.

“I don’t live around Chinatown, but if I did, I would tell them definitely not to open up,” Hindman said. “Because I feel if you’re going to open up, you’ve got to treat your people correctly. Walmart doesn’t. Things they promise, they don’t follow through with it. I’ve been promised interviews with different departments. I haven’t seen an interview yet.”

Hindman and about a hundred other Walmart workers met in Los Angeles this week at a national Making Change at Walmart conference. There, they put together a list of demands to present at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Walmart today.

The protesters say their schedules are irregular and they’re not earning as much as Walmart promised. They’re disrespected at work. They want higher wages, guaranteed health insurance and Walmart’s promise that it will invest profits in communities.

But Michael Jones, CEO of the Crenshaw Chamber of Commerce, says that’s what Walmart already does in South L.A. When the store opened about a decade ago, it created more than 500 jobs, most of which went to residents.

“That had a tremendous, tremendous impact. Before that, there were people that were out of work, and they made it happen,” Jones said. “I understand people will talk about unfair wages and things like that, but compared to what? If someone is unemployed, and they’re getting paid even minimum wage, is that an unfair wage? We’ve had a tough, tough economy. People can have some dignity .”

In a statement released today, Walmart said they do offer competitive pay and affordable benefits.

But the workers leaving the conference in L.A. today plan to air their grievances at Walmarts all over the country.

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Is the President’s new drug policy just more of the same?

April 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment


imageListen to the audio story from Annenberg Radio News:

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy’s new Drug Control Strategy for 2012 recommends roughly equal spending on treatment and punishment.

It allocated $10.1 billion on prevention and treatment; $9.4 billion on law enforcement and incarceration; $3.6 billion on drug interdiction; and $2.1 billion on international programs.

Meghan Ralston of Drug Policy Alliance, a national organization advocating marijuana legalization and de-criminalization of other lesser drugs and amounts, was underwhelmed. “It’s essentially been the exact same allocation of funds, the exact same approach, since the days of Nixon. So it’s really just the same old, same old.”

Ralston thinks Gil Kerlikowske, the President’s drug czar and head of the ONDCP, and the Administration are trying to do the right thing, but they’re going about it from the wrong direction.

“The policies that are in place at the federal level, and the rhetoric that’s happening at a federal level, is really inconsistent and out of touch with what a lot of the American people want and what a lot of American people need and really the direction the rest of the country is headed.”

With polls showing overwhelming support for medical marijuana, Ralston said, there’s a big disconnect between federal policy and popular will.

Kerlikowske has been touring the country to tout the new strategy. He held a news conference at Los Angeles’ First African Methodist Episcopal Church, in the West Adams district, to highlight a portion of the community-based approaches the administration thinks may be more effective at the local level. The Drug Free Communities Support Program offers small grants to community groups that address youth substance abuse.

Standing in the church’s sunny garden, Kerlikowske said local faith organizations reach more people regularly than he could possibly reach himself. “These are the folks that touch people every single day.”

He also said the new strategy will take into account the rising scourge of prescription drug abuse. “It was just a few years ago that no one talked about the problem of prescription drugs. Now prescription drugs take more lives in this country than heroin and cocaine overdoses combined.”

Whether the new strategy will be any more effective in combatting this and other forms of drug abuse than prior attempts remains to be seen.

Additional information can be found here.

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Host mother of slain USC student defends her neighborhood

April 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment


The USC community and the Adams-Normandie neighborhood are still grieving from the tragic murders of two graduate students. Ying Wu and Ming Qu, both 23, were shot at 1 a.m. on April 11 on Raymond Avenue near West 27th Street.

The electrical engineering students from China were attacked as they sat in Qu’s 2003 BMW as it was double-parked on the street. Police have no suspects and no motive for the shooting, though they are investigating whether it was an attempted carjacking or stemmed from a robbery. A $200,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the murders.

The killings have raised alarm bells for USC students, especially among the more than 2,500 Chinese students who attend USC. The area where the students were killed has been described in media reports as gang-infested, dangerous and a high-crime neighborhood. Some USC students say they are afraid to venture west of Vermont because of safety concerns.

LAPD and USC both say violent crime in that area just northwest of the USC campus has gone down significantly in the last year, and they view this crime as isolated. The Los Angeles Times Crime Map lists the Adams-Normandie neighborhood as having the 27th highest violent crime rate out of 209 neighborhoods.

image Jacqueline Hamilton in a file photo (Photo by Karla Robinson)

Jacqueline Hamilton was the host mother for Ying Wu. Hamilton has lived on Raymond Avenue for 11 years and says in the last six years the neighborhood has become safer. She spoke by telephone with Sara Harris, host of Hear in the City radio program on KPFK-FM. Listen to the interview:

Hear in the City airs Tuesdays at 2:30 p.m. on KPFK, 90. FM. To hear the entire program in which this interview was featured, click here .

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OpEd: Conflicting views on the “State of the City.”

April 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment


The South Los Angeles Power Coaltion released their response to Mayor Villaraigosa’s address, citing specific instances where South LA is missing out on the improvements he listed.

A People’s View of the City

As the Mayor of Los Angeles delivered his annual “State of the City” speech touting various improvements in recruiting new businesses, improving test scores and expanding rail projects, residents in an area commonly known as South Los Angeles remain stuck in an alternative universe.

While the Mayor spoke passionately about Google and a handful of other corporations moving into the city, thousands of South Los Angeles renters and homeowners are at risk of losing their housing because they don’t earn enough or can’t find work. Just a few months ago, activists had to go to the streets to save the home of Faith Parker, a 79 year old retired school teacher, who was facing foreclosure as a direct result of the rising cost of living in the city of Angels. As a number of corporations – lured by the promise of tax breaks and a business-friendly government – move into Los Angeles, low-income residents in neighborhoods like Jefferson Park, Pico Union and King Estates are facing eviction from their homes because the University of Southern California (USC) and the new football stadium needs land to entertain and house wealthier individuals.

While the Mayor spoke proudly about the number of schools within LAUSD that met minimum state standards, thousands of South Los Angeles students, parents and teachers continue to be exposed to deteriorating classroom conditions. Last year, children at the newly-opened Barack Obama Preparatory Academy in Chesterfield Square were forced to go to class without textbooks and other basic necessities for learning. While test scores for some increased, African American students in LAUSD were being disproportionately suspended at a rate 3 times their population. Latino and African American students were being served by the District so poorly that the Federal Government initiated an investigation, which led to the development of an exhaustive list of corrective actions. Recent proposals like reducing the importance of homework and making D grades passing clearly shows that leaders within LAUSD are finding little solace in test score increases.

While the Mayor spoke on the urgent need to pass another tax increase to fund mass transit, South Los Angeles residents continue to suffer the negative impacts of past projects like the Blue and Expo Line. There have been disruptions in traffic patterns, accidents and yes, even deaths. In spite of his understanding of this history, the Mayor, who controls multiple votes on the MTA Board, practically ignored the pleas of hundreds of South Los Angeles residents and leaders who packed a public meeting to demand that the coming Crenshaw-LAX Line stop at Leimert Park and go underground in the Crenshaw corridor. Despite the enormous show of unity among civil rights activists, elected officials and other stakeholders, the Mayor and his supporters on the board simply voted no. As a result, South Los Angeles residents, even those in middle-class communities like Baldwin Hills will be subjected to years of travel detours, a train going dangerously fast down a busy corridor and worst, very few jobs and business opportunities for the people from the area.

The State of the City is, and has always depended upon where you live, work, attend school and shop. For the millions of residents who call South Los Angeles home, the City presents a future without a clear path to significant improvements and prosperity. Our leaders are currently divided and fighting among each other over ideas and influence. Many of our great advocacy and service organizations are struggling to keep their doors open. If we want good schools, affordable housing, quality jobs and other benefits of a free and humane society, it would appear that the regular, everyday people of South Los Angeles will have to once again rise up and fight for it. This fight will require nearly every man, woman and child in the region to make the conscious decision to take part in this movement by supporting courageous organizations who genuinely fight on behalf of the people, voting for candidates and policies that improve the quality of life (instead of relying on big-name endorsements) and organizing consistently to force elected officials to serve the needs of the community. The words spoken by the Mayor in the State of the City were indeed true. I agree with him that “we can do anything we put our minds to, and we know what we need to do.” Unfortunately, the optimism contained within the Mayor’s State of the City address does not accurately express the complete reality of those who live on both sides of the 110 freeway.

In Solidarity,

Coordinating Committee
2nd Annual South Los Angeles People’s Convention

Join Us May 12, 2012 from 8am-4pm
Maya Angelou Community School – 300 E. 53rd Street Los Angeles, CA
www.southlapower.org

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Hyepin Im reflects on the Korean American community 20 years after the LA riots

April 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment


imageListen to the audio story from Annenberg Radio News:

There’s a lot of soul searching going on in Los Angeles as we approach the 20th anniversary of the LA riots.

It’s a time that brought devastation to many Koreans living here as some rioters unleashed their anger on Korean shop owners.

Emily Frost spoke with Hyepin Im, the President and CEO of Korean Churches for Community Development. It’s an organization that works to build the capacities of Korean churches and nonprofits and fuel economic development.

During the conversation, Im addresses issues of language barriers and rates of poverty among Koreans in California.

Im welcomes all to a commemorative service for the riots on april 29th held by the Korean Churches for Community Development. http://www.kccd.org/

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USC police involved in new shooting near campus after attempted robbery of students

April 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment


Click here to read the story.

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A hidden treasure in Crenshaw

April 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment


imageListen to the audio story from Annenberg Radio News:

On busy Crenshaw Boulevard there lies peace and tranquility in the large orange house on the corner. With a Buddha statue and large paper lanterns on the porch, it is unlike all the other homes on the block.

This house is the Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Temple, where you can hear chanting everyday. The temple moved from Hollywood to Crenshaw in 1980 after facing religious and racial intolerance. The abbot and founder of the temple, Walpola Piyananda says he has never felt unwelcome in Crenshaw.

“There are beautiful houses, neighbors are wonderful not making any difficulties. Fortunately in this neighborhood we didn’t get any trouble,” said Piyananda.

Crenshaw Boulevard is the home of many other churches and denominations, however many residents in the area don’t know that the temple, or any practice of Buddhism even exists.

As a local Crenshaw reporter, said he’d never heard of any Buddhism in the area.

“I think most people from what I know in this area would probably be Christian, either Baptist, Methodist, mostly Protestant Christian within the area. I had no idea there were any Buddhist temples or anything Buddhist in Crenshaw period,” said Brian Carter.

There are over 400 Buddhist temples in the Los Angeles area, but only a few people practice and come to Piyananda from Cresnshaw.

“Here most of the people are coming in Sri Lankan communities, born Buddhist families, Tai people, sometimes other ethnicities,” said Piyananda.

The Dharma Vijaya temple offers spiritual advice, religious counseling, and meditation. They don’t advertise within the community and are open to all religions.

“Buddhism we are not trying to convert anyone to our religion. If anyone needs any assistance we help them,” said Piyananda.

After 32 years, the Dharma Vijaya temple has become a permanent fixture in Crenshaw and is helping give back to a community that knows little about its existence.

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Dorsey High students dance into USC

April 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment


imageListen to the audio story from Annenberg Radio News:

It’s Friday morning at Dorsey High School and second-year math teacher Edward Kusell-Zigelman (better known as Ed KZ) is about to start a class that has nothing to do with adding or subtracting.

“One of my coordinators proposed the idea to me last year to teach any elective I wanted. She said we have this empty space, empty class, what do you wanna teach?” he said.

For KZ, the choice was easy. He’s a member of Break-On 2, the University of Southern California’s premiere salsa performance group. So KZ started a Partner Dance Class at Dorsey last fall and it’s open to students of all shapes and sizes. That is good news for athletes like Jovonte Warren, who says that when his friends hear Jovonte is in dance class “they laugh because I’m freakishly tall and when they come here to see, everybody else is short.”

KZ’s Partner Dance Class makes Dorsey High one of the only schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District to have an organized dance class. But dancing isn’t the only thing the class teaches.

“This class in particular is something special for the kids, not just because it’s the arts but because it’s partner dance,” KZ said. “So what’s really neat and unique about this class and would be at any program at any high school is that they’re really learning how to socialize with each other.”

Whether it is dancing the tango, doing the cha cha, or shuffling to the salsa, KZ emphasizes the importance of social etiquette and mutual respect.

“It’s been pretty cool, I kinda opened up as a person. I used to be kinda like shy and stuff but now, dance… it helps me like be able to walk up to a person and make conversation,” said Shelton Sanders, a senior who says Partner Dance has helped him open up his social life.

“Mr. KZ came in and asked us about the dance team and he said it was with girls so I was like ‘Yeah, this is awesome!’”

Girls aren’t the only attractive aspect of the course. The Dorsey students get to interact with USC students and alumni through a mentorship program set up by KZ, a USC graduate of 2010. The High Schoolers recently visited USC to perform in USC’s Break-On 2 salsa club. Armand Jordan said the experience helped get him excited about attending college this fall.

“Through this program I was able to go to USC for one of the first times and meet some of the college students and listen to some of their experiences,” Jordan said. “It’s definitely made me want to go to college.”

Almost all of the Partner Dance students are college bound and we’re not talking about your average two-year community college. Many Partner Dance students are headed to prestigious universities such as UCLA, USC, and Stanford.

But KZ’s mentorship program doesn’t just benefit the students of partner dance.

Erika Soto graduated USC in 2011 and she mentors the Partner Dance students every week at Dorsey High School.

“Every student has a USC college mentor and we basically write to each other back and forth,” Soto said. “I feel like we’re making a really great impact on their lives. We’re really influencing them in a positive way and it also reminds me of who I’m trying to be and keeps me motivated to stay in a positive path and move forward in a positive direction.”

The Partner Dance class will return to USC this spring for another performance, this time at Bovard Auditorium for the Break-On 2 Showcase April 19th.

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Buscaino, LAPD officers clean up empty land in South LA

April 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment


imageCouncilman Joe Buscaino from District 15, joined law enforcement officers and other community activists Saturday to clean up an empty plot of land near 103rd Street and Grandee Avenue in Watts.

The plot was overgrown with weeds and had become a “magnet for trash, vermin and homeless encampments,” according to a release by Buscaino’s office.

“Enough is enough,” Buscaino said in the release. “We need to respond to the community’s concerns here. This is a main thoroughfare for students in the area. For them to see all this trash…completely unacceptable.”

Busciano was approached at the beginning of the month at a meeting of the Watts Gang Task Force and was joined at the cleanup by officers from LAPD’s Southeast Division, members of the Southeast Division Spanish Community Police and Advisory Board, the Watts Gang Task Force, LA Conservation Corps and the Bureau of Street Services.

“A cleanup like this, organized like this, hasn’t been done in years,” said Robert Martinez, Senior Lead Officer for LAPD’s Southeast Division, in the release.

He noted that a cleaner plot of land would bring positive changes to the lives of nearby middle school students who see the plot every day and will no longer have to look at signs of poverty and crime.

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New map points to the next ride in South LA at CicLAvia

April 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment


By Benjamin Stokes

On Sunday, a team called RideSouthLA celebrated the launch of its new bicycle map to the Watts Towers, handing out copies at the southern tip of the massive CicLAvia festival. The map offers a next ride for CicLAvia enthusiasts, who numbered more than 100,000 pedestrians and cyclists, and filled more than 10 miles of streets, from Boyle Heights to MacArthur Park, seeking to reimagine Los Angeles.

imageProfessor Francois Bar of USC Annenberg Innovation Lab with Tafarai Bayne of T.R.U.S.T. South LA

One answer came with the RideSouthLA map, which was just printed this week. The map provides a “do it yourself” route for a bike ride in South Los Angeles, from the iconic Watts Towers to the wetlands of Augustus Hawkins Park on Compton Avenue. This was the first printing of the map, and more than 400 free copies were distributed, according to organizers.

Several bicycle clubs from South LA were at CicLAvia, including the East Side Riders, which organized a “feeder ride” to CicLAvia as a group. The Riders were eager to view the map, which features photographs of and by several of their members. Their club is a co-sponsor of the RideSouthLA.com website, and they helped pedal-test the route back in January, using their personal cell phones to photograph the Watts Towers and other community treasures worth sharing.

Like CicLAvia, the map is both about alternative transit and social change in Los Angeles.

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