Crenshaw High’s magnet conversion and Baldwin Hills families



Crenshaw High underwent a magnet conversion this fall.

Crenshaw High underwent a magnet conversion this fall | Photo by Jazmin Garcia

As a child, my predominantly African-American enclave in South Los Angeles seemed perfect with its hilly landscape, the view of the city, and the close relationships I had with my neighbors. But in my teens, reality set in and my perspective began to change.

Weekends became my only chance to spend time with other kids like me. We all lived in the same middle-class neighborhood, yet we traveled all over the city for a good education. “Have car, will travel,” became my mother’s refrain. I would attend meetings of Jack and Jill—an African-American community service-based organization— and compare stories with my peers about balancing one-hour commutes with homework and extracurricular activities, and what it’s like to attend schools where there were very few people of color. [Read more…]

A night with Reporter Corps South LA



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Ryan Johnson welcomes people to the 24th Street Theatre

Reporter Corps, a new program that trains young adults to report on their own communities,  presented the work of its first South L.A. class Tuesday evening at the 24th Street Theatre.

Reporter Corps interns presented an audiovisual tour of  their South L.A. communities and a preview of their in-depth educational stories to more than 50 people that included community members, USC Annenberg students and professors, and Eighth District City Councilman Curren Price.

The University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism selected the six South L.A. residents, ages 18 – 23, from a competitive pool for the 10-week program. Participants received intensive multimedia reporting training from volunteer journalists representing outlets including the LA Times, KPCC, Wall Street Journal, Streetsblog SouthLA and others. Each participant developed a personal education story in partnership with the Hechinger Report, a non-profit news organization. [Read more…]

Reporter Corps South LA members interview Jan Perry



Jan Perry speaking with members of Reporter Corps South LA at City Hall.

Jan Perry speaking with members of Reporter Corps South LA at City Hall.

During a visit to Los Angeles’ City Hall for the City Council meeting on June 28, Reporter Corps of South LA met with Councilwoman Jan Perry.  It was the last day of her 3rd and final term of service to District 9 of South Central Los Angeles. In her 12 years of service, Perry got a fast food ban in South L.A., got some 5,000 units of affordable housing built, as well as supporting the implementation of other large developments, such as parks and businesses.   Though she is uncertain of exactly what lies ahead, she plans to stay in politics.

Meeting with Councilwoman Jan Perry might have been unexpected, but in the few moments we had between discovering we would be talking with her and her actually making it to the pressroom, the sharp minds of Reporter Corps South LA were able to hustle up some interesting questions. Check it out. [Read more…]

Reporter Corps application deadline extended!



Alhambra Source Reporter Corps fellow at KPCC-FM studios.

Alhambra Source Reporter Corps fellow at KPCC-FM studios.

The deadline for applications has been extended to May 17.

Reporter Corps will train young adults in journalistic ethics and practice, multimedia storytelling skills, and how their local government works so that they can report on their own community. Reporters will publish stories on Intersections South LA and receive training and support from professional journalists and researchers. Reporter Corps is made possible with the support of USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the McCormick Foundation. [Read more…]

OPINION: A high school student’s observation of the mayoral forum



By Jesus Vargas

On Saturday, January 19, 2013, the USC Bovard Auditorium hosted the 21st Annual Empowerment Congress Summit. This annual event brought together the five candidates in the Los Angeles mayoral election. Eric Garcetti, Wendy Greuel, Kevin James, Jan Perry, and Emanuel Pleitez all took part of a community oriented forum that gave insight into their potential decisions as mayor of Los Angeles. [Read more…]

A big brother lost to violence



By Theresa Olsteen, Crenshaw High School

I used to think that the one thing I could never speak about was the death of my brother. When it first happened, I couldn’t talk about it with anyone and didn’t want to think about it. Out of all of my family members I think that it hit my mom, his twin, and myself the hardest.

I didn’t believe it until the funeral. Although I cried when they told me he was gone, his death became real at his funeral.

His death wasn’t his fault. He went to the store with one of his friends earlier in the evening before the incident. His friend got in an altercation with a Hispanic man and that turned into a fight. From what I heard, my brother’s friend Red won the fight and the man left with cuts and bruises. After the fight my brother Kevin and Red returned to our house where they hung out.

After a couple of hours Kevin decided that he needed to go back to the store and his twin Keith told him that he shouldn’t. Knowing Kevin he didn’t listen. When he got back to the store the Hispanic man and one of his friends had been waiting there for him. Before he walked in the store the men shot him three times in the chest with a shoot gun. Kevin died right there on the spot.

The reason why I think that it hit me so hard is because we were really close. I talked to him about everything and he always listened. He was there for me when I thought that I was all by myself. He was my oldest brother and although he was mean at times, he was really nice. As days went by after his death I thought that I couldn’t live without him. He was the person that I would turn to when things got hard and rocky for me but I had to deal with it alone because he was gone.

Most of the time I isolated myself from everyone and everything. My mom thought that I was never going to talk again.

The way that I got through it alone was by picking up a book and sitting on our roof, where I was by myself, to read. It kind of got my mind off of it but I still couldn’t stop thinking about him.

The first person that I started talking to after the whole incident was his twin, my other brother Keith. I knew that we had to be going through the same thing because they where each other’s shadow. They went everywhere together.

After he and I started talking I started feeling better and now I feel like I can talk about it freely. Thank you for listening.