TDE record label CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith has a heart of gold. On April 22, 2020, Tiffith provided a solution to senior citizens who were struggling to pay their rent. He committed to covering on month’s rent to the seniors residing in HACLA’s Watts Developments. HACLA’s president said, “This charitable contribution will cover one month’s rent for 311 units, benefitting some of our population’s most vulnerable and at-risk residents.” The Top Dawg CEO donated a total of $86,000.00 to the help the residents. Tiffith was born and raised in Watts and has a strong connection with his community. He is known for his philanthropic work. Tiffith credits his grandmother for his giving heart towards the community. “Giving back is what it’s all about. My community has given me so much and I come from a giving family; my grandmother would give you the shirt off her back. She taught me that growing up.”
Bakewell Media launched the Support a Black Business Advertising Campaign as the COVID-19 pandemic put Black businesses in distress. The advertising campaign program was designed to provide assistance and help Black businesses secure desperately needed advertising and outreach mechanisms. The goal is to provide information that serves as a reminder that these businesses are still open and desperately need the community’s patronage. Some of the local businesses highlighted this year included Harold’s and Belle’s, Earles’ Grill, The District by GS, The Hawkins Company and more.
In April during the height of the global COVID-19 pandemic, several community leaders gathered to collect and donate 200K diapers to families across Los Angeles during a time of great need. In the spirit of cooperation, L.A. City Council President Emeritus Herb Wesson, Jr. teamed up with the Good+Foundation to distribute a massive amount of diapers to families experiencing hardship due to COVID-19 shutdowns. Councilmember Wesson was joined by Council President Nury Martinez, Councilmember Curren Price and Good+Foundation Director of National Programs, Dr. Alan-Michael Graves to announce and distribute the diapers and wipes. “There are moments like this, the biggest public health-crisis that we’ve ever gone through. Moments like this that bring out the worst in people, but it also brings out the best in people,” Councilmember Wesson stated.
The Brotherhood Crusade filled a large section of the Crenshaw District with car lines of people, spanning from Crenshaw Blvd. and 39th St., and stretching around the entire block, hoping to receive much needed resources at Brotherhood Crusade’s annual Navidad en el Barrio, or Christmas in the neighborhood event. Brotherhood’s administrators, staff, along with select community volunteers, gave their time to help out other community members in need, serving up to 3,000 families.
Charles R. Drew University embarked on an historic and ambitious project to develop a four-year, fully accredited independent medical school dedicated to eradicating local health care disparities. The effort will build on the original McCone Commission Report published in the aftermath of the 1965 Watts Rebellion that called for an aggressive, proactive approach to providing the highest level of local resident health care. The building is projected at 100,000 square feet, with an ambitious $100 million targeted fundraising goal. The IMEP will be housed on the university campus. The project was kicked off with nearly $2 million in planning grants from the Cedars-Sinai Foundation and the California Endowment. Key relationships with the county of Los Angeles, private sector donors, foundations, the National Institutes of Health, and state and local funders, will spur the effort.
Tingirides has been policing for over 25 years, she developed her skills in the central division located in downtown Los Angeles. Tingirides grew throughout the department and served different communities, but there was a pivotal point in her career. The South East Community Police Station had an opening for a supervisor, Officer Tingirides felt the position pulling at her roots. Presently filling the role of newly appointed Deputy Chief, Los Angeles reflected on the L.A. native, being raised in Watts, molded Tingirides to be supportive and aware of her community. She stated, “Every day, I try to pause, and really think about what happened in the position that I’m in.” She described her personal adjustment to capture the magnitude that this progressive step that’s been taken by the city of Los Angeles
Taste of Soul, one of the largest one-day food and music festivals in the world, didn’t happen in 2020, due to the health risks of the pandemic, but TOS Founder, Danny J. Bakewell, Sr. and his staff felt it was critical that the festival reached out to those vendors who’ve been supportive and committed to the festival and community for the 15-year run, as well as supporting new upstart restaurants run by business-savvy Millennials. On Saturday, September 16, Bakewell visited Sip & Sonder coffee house in Inglewood, Hawkin’s House of Burgers in Watts, Chef Marilyn’s in the Crenshaw District, and Mel’s Fish Shack in the Jefferson Park area, to show moral and financial support, despite the festival producers’ decision to cancel the massive event, opting for a safer, virtual concert experience.
The beginning of 2020 for Destination Crenshaw was about spreading a message of Black ownership. New businesses emerging such as the Office of Racial Equity and South LA Cafe coffee showed the urgency among Black entrepreneurs, community leaders, and elected officials alike fight to preserve its historic Black culture and physical presence in South L.A. Destination Crenshaw aims to help ensure the value generated by the culture stays within South L.A. by investing in the community with initiatives intended for current residents, a move many hope will allow Black businesses to compete with newcomers. Destination Crenshaw also plans to have an impact on the community well in advance of its physical completion. In conjunction with Councilmember Marqueece Harris Dawson, it aims to create a robust local workforce while increasing access to high-paying jobs and affordable housing. In March, at the intersection of Crenshaw and Leimert, hundreds gathered to honor the history of Crenshaw Boulevard and Leimert Park and to celebrate the groundbreaking of Destination Park and its centerpiece, Sankofa Park.
In January of 2020, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a handful of motions designed to more quickly respond to provide housing for people living on the streets. Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Janice Hahn co-authored a motion for a Comprehensive Crisis Response Strategy. Ridley-Thomas also garnered approval for deploying 30 trailers provided by the state to public and privately-owned parking lots in South Los Angeles to serve as interim housing for families. The trailers were supplied through an executive order by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who also committed to spending more than $1 billion in fighting homelessness statewide during the 2020-21 fiscal year. The county’s crisis strategy, as laid out in the motion, called for the county’s Homeless Initiative and Office of Emergency Management to work together on a framework for prioritizing strategies that build capacity and accountability.
In August, parents, students, and teachers protested at the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce in part of a national action to demand equity for students. Protestors are demanding the police are defunded, that police are out of schools, and making sure students don’t return to schools until health experts confirm that it’s safe. Police are criminalizing students, says Director of Operations and Campaign at L.A. Students Deserve Joseph Williams. “In LAUSD, Black students are only 8% of the student population, but they’ve been 25% and 30% of all contacts, citations, and arrests by L.A. school police. We know that Black student achievement has been one of the lowest rates on all of LAUSD.” Williams infers that LAUSD refuses to invest in Black student success and instead is investing in prioritizing the criminalization of Black students. The protestors are fighting for racial equality. They claim that the Chamber of Commerce represents the interests of businesses and corporations. “The time is up for neglecting our communities. The time is up for criminalizing our students. The time is for billionaires not paying their fair share,” says UTLA President and Activist Cecily Myart-Cruz. She indicates it’s the perfect time to stand up and speak truth in power.” Myart-Cruz passionately states, “In words of the late John Lewis, let us get in the way and demand change.”
During the early morning hours on Tuesday April 21, firefighters from the Los Angeles Fire Department extinguished flames that damaged part of the historic Vision Theatre located in Leimert Park. Firefighters extinguished the fire in about 25 minutes. The first reports of the fire came in around 4:35 a.m. on Tuesday. There were no reported injuries, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation. The venue opened as a cinema venue in 1931 under the name Leimert Park Theatre. It was purchased in 1990 by legendary actress Marla Gibbs, who gave it the Vision name. The city eventually took over the theater and turned it into a performing arts center. The theater has been undergoing a year’s-long, multi-phase renovation. Wesson said the most important thing is that the fire did not delay the timeline of the scheduled reopening of the Vision Theatre. An exact date has not been set but the councilman said he is hopeful the revitalization project will stay on course for reopening at end of the calendar year.
On June 24th, 2020 community members from South L.A. filled Leimert Park to honor Juneteenth. On the South section of the event, the Pray for the Hood stage hosted various artists with a common goal of solidarity, love, and ownership. “This was arguably one of the most monumental events of the year,” says Jimetta Rose of Voices of Creation. One moment during the performance breaks, everyone was chanting Queen Latifah’s lyrics U-N-I-T-Y in solidarity. The energy surrounded Leimert Park filled the African American community with love and hope for brighter days. For many people in the community, Leimert Park has always been a hub for people to shop and bond with each other. In appreciation for his efforts of activism and organizing events that empower and unify Leimert Park community, event co-organizer, attorney, Jaaye Person-Lynn presented Dom Kennedy with the Ben Caldwell award. Kennedy wasn’t able to make the event because of prior obligations; he still sent a powerful message to encourage the community read by RJ Lewis. This Juneteenth celebration for Black independence was an essential gathering for people to release the hate, anger and fear, and to be filled with love. As such, we made the city a safer place, said Person-Lynn.
In October, Asher Abehsera, founder and CEO of LIVWRK, spoke candidly about his purchase of the mall and his commitment to community inclusion, and his partnerships with CIM and the Kushner Family. Abehsera was born and raised in Los Angeles and grew up in the Pacific Pan Park area (Fairfax District). Despite his loyalty to the city, Abehsera found himself and his company, LIVWRK Development, in the middle of a heated debate regarding his company’s plans to purchase the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall; a vastly outdated shopping mall built-in 1947 in the heart of the Crenshaw Corridor, and entrenched in heart of the African American Community. In early 2005, a group of investors, led by Quinton Primo (one of the few African American owned investment firms) Capri Capital Partner, purchased the shopping mall. Despite the early success of the mall, the investor group led by LACERA (Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association) grew weary of the investment and decided to sell the mall. In April 2020, the CIM Group agreed to buy the mall for more than $100 million. However, by June 2020, the sale was dropped due to community opposition to the plan without the residential component. The mall has been closed for much of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. LIVWRK and its partners, DFH, are now proposing to purchase the mall, and at the time of filing this story in 2020, the closing seemed to be eminent. But, despite all of his good intentions and promises to bringing forth quality and inclusive development, many in the community have been reluctant to support LIVWRK as the buyer for the mall. Rev. William Smart of SCLC says “This mall is a landmark building within our community and I want to see a group of African American Investors own and be afforded this opportunity within our community.”
Wondalunch held their second event in Watts giving away contact free, prepackaged meals that included fresh fruit, vegetables, and poultry. Community leaders graciously contributed their time to ensure people have food on the table. Congresswoman Maxine Waters, singer, rapper, and actress Janelle Monae, and CNN political commentator Angela Rye showed up to lend a hand.
