South LA Democratic Space: SCOPE

September 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment


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Manuel Hernandez, Lead Organizer of SCOPE.

Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education builds grassroots power to eliminate the structural barriers to social and economic opportunities for poor and disenfranchised communities through community organizing, leadership development, strategic alliance building, research, training and capacity building, and policy advocacy at the local, state and national levels.

SCOPE’s leadership development includes their organizing team working with local youth from local schools such as the William and Carol Ouchi independent charter high school.

Manuel who has worked in South LA for 14 years choose Ouchi high school as a democratic space “because some of our younger members of SCOPE attend this school and they have been really instrumental in participating in the organization, membership meetings, and overall a pleasure to have at SCOPE. I believe that education is key in anything that we do in our everyday lives and if our community is informed about the issues that affect them, it’s key to making a difference.”

SCOPE fortalece el poder comunitario que elimina las barreras estructurales para oportunidades sociales y económicas a través de la organización comunitaria, el desarrollo de liderazgo, y la creación de capacidad. Su equipo trabaja con escuelas locales como la escuela independiente William y Carol Ouchi.

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South LA Democratic Space: The Children’s Nature Institute

September 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment


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Kelly Decker, Executive Director of The Children’s Nature Institute.

The Children’s Nature Institute (CNI) works to inspire the minds of children through nature. Children in LA may grow up near the ocean, but never touch a marine creature. At the marine touch tank inside CNI’s home at the Magnolia Place Family Center, Kelly Decker shows how the tank anchors a democratic space by tapping into the “visceral curiosity of children… coming from uncertainty into love.”

Democratic spaces to Kelly emphasize equality. Here in LA, CNI is offering urban children more equal access to nature, providing a launch pad to ownership and sharing the knowledge that the planet belongs to everyone one of us.

Kelly who has worked in South LA for 12 years describes how “we at CNI believe it’s important to include the ocean world in your life as an everyday urban resident. We want this to be an everyday experience, because it’s important to share with our families in South LA and we want to find out how this democratic space which belongs to the community works in relationship to families and children who find it interesting to them.”

Children’s Nature Institute se dedica a inspirar las mentes de los niños a través de la naturaleza. CNI le ofrece a los niños de Los Ángeles más acceso a la naturaleza con su tanque marino dentro del Magnolia Place Family Center, compartiendo el mensaje que el planeta nos pertenece a todos nosotros.

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South LA Democratic Space: Community Coalition

September 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment


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Aurea Montes-Rodriguez, Vice President for Organizational Growth of Community Coalition.

Community Coalition works to help transform the social and economic conditions in South LA that foster addiction, crime, violence and poverty by building a community institution that involves thousands in creating, influencing and changing public policy.

U.S. Congresswoman Karen Bass founded Community Coalition as a non-profit organization in 1990 in response to the 1980’s crack cocaine epidemic that devastated South LA. Community Coalition works with African American and Latino residents to build a prosperous and healthy South LA through campaigns that create safe neighborhoods, quality schools, a strong social safety net and positive economic development in order to reduce crime, poverty and substance abuse in the community.

Aurea, who has worked in South LA for 20 years, chose CoCo as a democratic space “because I came here in 1997 and for the first time I was exposed to community organizing. I haven’t left because the founders had a vision that CoCo could serve as a vehicle for everyday residents so they could come together and talk about the most pressing issues in this community and develop their own proposals to address those conditions through action campaigns that result in concrete public policies or tangible changes.”

Community Coalition se dedica a cambiar las condiciones sociales y económicas que dan lugar a la adicción, crimen, violencia y la pobreza en el Sur de Los Ángeles. La organización trabaja con residentes Afroamericanos y Latinos para crear comunidades seguras, escuelas de calidad, y el desarrollo económico.

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South LA Democratic Space: Community Services Unlimited, Inc.

September 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment


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Neelam Sharma, Executive Director of Community Services Unlimited, Inc.

Community Services Unlimited’s mission is to “Serve the people, body and soul,” and their vision is a sustainable food system, constructed from the ground up in South Central LA, that trains local youth, creates real jobs, and builds the local economy.

Earth Day South LA – held at the Normandie Avenue Elementary School – is one of several spaces in which CSU’s visions are put into action. The annual gathering brings the families of South LA together with social justice advocates, urban agriculturalists, chefs, musicians, artists and a diverse set of festival-goers in an inspiring day that celebrates the collective power of community.

Neelam, who has worked in South LA for 16 years, sees Earth Day as a democratic space because “it shows what schools can be in a neighborhood and what they should be. It shows ways in which a school administration can work with the community, ways in which the space can open up and not just shut down once the school activities are over. It can really become an ongoing space for the community to celebrate, share and learn, and that is what Earth Day is for the community of South LA.”

El objetivo de Community Services Unlimited es “Servir a la gente, cuerpo y alma.” Su visión es crear un sistema alimentario sostenible en el Sur de Los Ángeles que también sirva para entrenar a los jóvenes, construir trabajos y fortalecer la economía local.

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South LA Democratic Space: Community Financial Resource Center

September 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment


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Rudy Espinoza, Senior Program Officer, Local Economic Development Initiatives of Community Financial Resource Center.

CFRC is a financial resource for building business and community together.

Late into the night along Slauson Avenue, on a corner that could easily feel unsafe, a single food truck has repurposed the urban space. With lights and food, the parking lot is transformed — bringing in revenue, but also conversation and quite likely reducing crime. Rudy of CFRC positions this democratic space at the intersection of community economic development, reenvisioning public space, and increasing opportunity for historically underserved residents.

Rudy, who has worked in South LA for a year and half, and in other Los Angeles neighborhoods for eight years, believes the corner near Slauson and Broadway is curiously democratic because “the space is repurposed at night by local entrepreneurs — not only making the street alive and vibrant, but making it safer. They are ‘eyes on the street’.”

Durante las horas de la noche, un lote de estacionamiento en la Avenida Slauson es transformado en un área comercial donde no solamente se vende comida, pero también se fomenta un sentido de comunidad, creando oportunidades para residentes que han sido historicamente marginados.

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South LA Democratic Space: LA Community Action Network

September 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment


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Pete White, Founder and Co-Director of LA Community Action Network.

LA CAN is a leader in organizing and empowering members of LA’s downtown “Skid Row” and South Los Angeles communities. Facing barriers related to economic, racial, and gender discrimination, their collaborative model of action helps give voice and power to local residents on issues that matter to their everyday lives.

The LA CAN headquarters is a vibrant space for conversation, education and organizing, as well as for artistic and media production. Their rooftop garden illustrates their commitment to encouraging vitality within spaces that are too often incorrectly and unfairly categorized as barren.

Pete, who was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, sees the LA CAN headquarters as “a space where all things downtown grow…This is also a space where creativity is welcomed. We say – whatever is your craft, you bring it here. If it’s poetry, if it’s political song, if it’s analysis, you bring it here.”

La oficina central de LA CAN es un espacio para conversar, educar y organizar a miembros de la comunidad del Sur de Los Ángeles y “Skid Row.” El jardín en la azotea del edificio demuestra la dedicación a promover vitalidad en espacios que típicamente son considerados estériles.

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South LA Democratic Space: Esperanza Community Housing Corporation

September 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment


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Monic Uriarte, Community Organizer/Health Promoter for Esperanza Community Housing Corporation

Mercado la Paloma promotes a local entrepreneurial spirit while fostering creative and multi-cultural community-based activities and programming.

The conceptual idea of Mercado la Paloma grew in 1999 from local residents living in Esperanza Community Housing Corporation’s building development.

Monic, who has worked in South LA for 16 years, believes Mercado La Paloma “is so important because it gives the opportunity to local residents to dream about being their own business owners. In South Central LA it was almost impossible to get investors to invest in local residents to create local businesses, so Esperanza created Mercado La Paloma to provoke this democratic space.”

Mercado la Paloma promueve un espíritu de comercio local y facilita actividades creativas y multiculturales en la comunidad del Sur de Los Ángeles. La idea del mercado creció en 1999 entre residentes que vivían en un edificio de desarrollo patrocinado por Esperanza Community Housing.

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South LA Democratic Space: Advancement Project

September 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment


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Janice Burns, Research Analyst and Community Research Lab Manager for Advancement Project.

Advancement Project is a public policy change organization rooted in the civil rights movement. We engineer large-scale systems change to remedy inequality, expand opportunity and open paths to upward mobility. Our goal is that members of all communities have the safety, opportunity and health they need to thrive.

Originally painted by Elliot Pinkney in 1972 and restored in 1997, the Mafundi mural represents the logo of the Mafundi Institute. Emerging from the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1965 Watts Rebellion, the institute was created in 1967 by a group of writers, dancers, film-makers and actors in order to use arts to express sentiment about their community’s conditions and issues. Today, the building houses a community center, school, and the soul food joint, Watts Coffee House.

Janice, who has worked in South LA for 7 years, chose the Mafundi mural because it “represents my introduction to what research and planning by the community can do for the community. The collaboration of different community members and organizations brought arts and community voice to the rebuilding process after the 1965 Watts rebellion and even helped build some of the new housing that my family later moved into.”

El Advancement Project es una organización con raíces en el movimiento de derechos civiles que promueve cambios en las políticas públicas. Su objetivo es que todos los miembros de todas las comunidades tengan la seguridad, la oportunidad y la salud que necesitan para prosperar.

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South LA Democratic Space: Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE)

September 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment


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Gabriela Garcia, UNIDAD Community Organizer for Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE)

Open, inviting, and with a strong ethos of progressive thinking and action, SAJE is home of the UNIDAD Coalition which is comprised of more than 15 organizations working in South LA and is the meeting and training ground of local residents committed to living in a just and equitable community.

A once oppressive and exploitative sweatshop building, SAJE would later take over this building and convert it to a poignant space that fosters social and political agendas around issues of displacement, community development and social justice.

Gabriela, who has worked in South LA for 7 years feels “the SAJE building itself transcends to so many different spaces in the neighborhood. SAJE is a platform where movements are built. It’s an equitable place and in fact was formerly a garment factory that was converted to something more just for our neighborhood.”

En el pasado, el edificio de SAJE era una maquiladora opresiva. Ahora, este mismo edificio es un espacio conmovedor que cultiva agendas sociales y políticas sobre temas de desplazamiento, desarrollo comunitario y justicia social.

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Walmart renovation aims to bring affordable produce to Crenshaw

September 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment


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Listen to an audio story from Annenberg Radio News

The Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza Walmart celebrated a 5-month-long renovation this morning with a ribbon cutting, messages from community leaders and special reopening-day deals.

Clad in Walmart-blue uniforms more than 100 Walmart employees heard from company executives and community leaders.

“When the Walmart organization selected Baldwin Hills and the Crenshaw area as a location for its store,” said Bishop Charles E. Blake of the West Angeles Church in Crenshaw. “It was a significant turning point for our community an a significant investment.”

Walmart continued its legacy of investing in the community with a $50,000 grant given to Friends of the Expo Center — a nonprofit that serves the Exposition Park community.

The renovation included a new produce section, a sewing and crafts department, home furnishings and a redesigned floor plan for more convenient shopping. It’s part of a larger remodel of the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. Capri Urban Baldwin, the company that manages the mall, has invested more than $35 million to transform the plaza.

The project has paid for a myriad of projects including new restaurants, such as Post and Beam, the new Rave Cinemas movie theater, a new children’s play area and family restrooms.

One of the most significant changes to the Walmart is the addition of a fresh produce section that community leaders said will lead to better health and longevity in the community. The area lacks adequate access to fresh fruits and vegetables, according to the CDC.

Shopper Teresa Worrell said the Walmart will help her get healthy food to feed her daughter, who attends elementary school in the area. “We had limited fruits in the store for years in Walmart,” said Teresa Worrell, a Crenshaw resident who was shopping for yogurt and milk in the new dairy section. “This is very, very helpful you know financial and health-wise.” image

“We are excited to welcome our neighbors and community members back to our newly remodeled store,” said store manager Synetria Peterson. “It will be a brand new shopping experience for the community, and one we are thrilled about. We look forward to serving our customers by focusing on what is important to them.”

But not everyone believes in Walmart’s mission. Several groups have protested Walmart’s presence in Crenshaw. “Walmart is anti-union, it pays low wages, in fact it doesn’t even pay living wages,” said Najee Ali, the founder of Project Islamic H.O.P.E. “And certainly Walmart employees can’t afford to buy into medical or dental insurance.”

Similarly, numerous groups are fighting a Walmart that is going to be built in Chinatown. “What we call mom and pop businesses are essentially put out of business because the Walmart prices are lower than the smaller businesses in the community,” Ali said.

But Councilman Bernard Parks, who attended the ribbon cutting ceremony, said that type of thinking is flawed. “The grocery industry has not invested in our community,” Parks said. “The mom
and pop stores cannot carry the burden of the needs in the community and if you look at the crowd here today they look like the community.”

imageLocal business owners weren’t as concerned about the Walmart as they were with the fact that people just aren’t buying groceries as much as they are eating out.

The Walmart, which opened in 2003, was one of the first businesses to open in the Crenshaw district after the 1992 LA Riots that devastated the area. Parks credits the store for major economic development. “They stepped in and hired locally from the community,” Parks said. “They also stepped in and began to be a part of the community because of their investment in the community.”

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