The long road to revitalization

PDF

Download

Open document

Flip pages

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content

THE LONG ROAD TO REVITALIZATION

by

Tracii McGregor

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM

May 2022

Copyright 2022 Tracii McGregor
ii
DEDICATION

For Mommy.

iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

An enormous thank you to my magnificent thesis committee: Douglas Blush,
Miki Turner and Robeson Taj Frazier. Special thanks to Annenberg School for
Communication & Journalism, especially the following faculty and staff, for their
ongoing support during my tenure at USC: Michael Parks (RIP), Allyson Hill, William
Celis, Sandy Tolan, Stuart Sender, Willa Seidenberg, Josh Kun, Vince Gonzalez, Lisa
Pecot-Hebert, Mike Ploszek, Fabian Ledesma, Annie Mateen and Gordon Stables.
I would be remiss if I did not shout out the folks at School of Cinematic Arts
who were also supportive of my unwitting journey from journalist to filmmaker:
Norman Hollyn (RIP), Cedric Berry, Jeremy Deneau, Mary Posatko, Toi Juan Shannon
and Nancy Forner.
Extra special thanks to my immediate family: Verna Lillieth Barnes, Janet John,
Simon McGregor, and finally, my son, Tristan Bear, who accompanied me to many
classes and spent several long nights in the Media Center at Annenberg and in the
basement at SCA. Thank you for your patience and understanding. I love you.

iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

ABSTRACT v

INTRODUCTION 1

BIBLIOGRAPHY 2

SCRIPT 7

v
ABSTRACT

Born in London to Jamaican parents, I immigrated with my family to Los Angeles in
1974. We landed in the Crenshaw District, where my grandfather lived. Windsor Hills to be
exact. My mother, two older siblings and I stayed in one room at Grandpa’s house for a few
months until we found a modest, 3-bedroom apartment just down the hill in Hyde Park.
I was only four years old at the time but vividly remember the neighborhood in those
days. Bustling with beautiful, Black people from across the diaspora, in many ways, it
reminded me of the North West London community we left behind. Luckily for us, Stone’s
Grocery & Restaurant, the first Caribbean eatery in the area – was a few blocks from our place.
They still have the best Jamaican patties in the city!
Black-owned businesses thrived in the area, supported mainly by their own. On
Saturday mornings, we took a short bus ride to Leimert Park, where I was enrolled in ballet
and tap dance classes. After class, I would frolic around the village with my brother and sister,
soaking up the rich, cultural arts scene. I even had a Black pediatrician, Dr. Holden, who had
an office in the old medical building on Stocker.
In the early ’80s, we moved out of the Crenshaw District and into the Miracle Mile
District, and years later to the San Fernando Valley, where I finished junior high and high
school. But Crenshaw, my first adopted home, would always remain close to my heart. Once I
was old enough to drive, I’d regularly make my back to the old neighborhood and stop at
Stone’s for some rice and peas with fish gravy and, of course, those famous patties.
A few years after college, in the mid ’90s, I moved across country to New York, where I
lived and worked for 15 years. When I relocated back to Los Angeles after having my son in late
2010, there were already signs of change in the Crenshaw District. By the time Metro began
building the Crenshaw/LAX line in Fall 2014, the conversations around gentrification,
particularly that of the Westside, the Eastside, Downtown, Hollywood and now South LA, had
reached a fever pitch. This film gives voice to the stakeholders of Black Los Angeles.
1
INTRODUCTION

The Long Road to Revitalization tells the story of a long-overlooked community battling to
preserve the last Black enclave in Los Angeles.

The Long Road to Revitalization
https://vimeo.com/668738672
pw: crenshaw

2
Ali, Najee. “Najee Notes: Charles Quarles Has 30 Years of Development Experience.” The
Wave Newspapers, October 19, 2017, http://archive.wavepublication.com/najees-notes-
charles-quarles-30-years-development-experience/.
Anderson, Niele. “Crenshaw Community Concerns Invoke Gentrification Summit.” LA
Sentinel, December 7, 2017, https://lasentinel.net/crenshaw-community-concerns-
invoke-gentrification-summit.html.
Arango, Tim and Jon Huang, Jugal K. Patel, Anjali Singh. “Black, Homeless and Burdened by
LA’s Legacy of Racism.” New York Times, December 22, 2019,
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/22/us/los-angeles-homeless-black-
residents.html.
Austin, Paige. “Home Prices Skyrocket in LA Pricing Out Most Buyers.” Patch Los Angeles,
May 11, 2021, https://patch.com/california/los-angeles/home-prices-skyrocket-la-
pricing-out-most-buyers.
Barragan, Bianca. “16 Developments Set to Sprout Along the Crenshaw Line.” Curbed Los
Angeles, May 6, 2020, https://la.curbed.com/maps/crenshaw-line-development-map-
metro-inglewood.
Bernstein, Sharon. “Arguing Over Crenshaw LAX Rail Project.” NBC Los Angeles, October 27,
2011, https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/crenshaw-rail-project/1911252/.
Broverman, Neal. “South LA Citizens Sue Metro.” Curbed Los Angeles, April 29, 2008,
https://la.curbed.com/2008/4/29/10571908/citizens-group.
Carter, Blake. “Metro’s Massive Construction Project Under Crenshaw Blvd.” LA Standard
Newspaper, August 5, 2016,
https://lastandardnewspaper.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5
05:metro-s-massive-construction-project-under-crenshaw-
blvd&catid=72:news&Itemid=241.
Caldwell, Ben. Multimedia Artist and Historian. In-person interview. Los Angeles. November
24, 2018.
Chandler, Jenna. “New Report Underscores Link Between ‘Shocking’ Number of Evictions,
Homelessness.” Curbed Los Angeles, June 10, 2019,
https://la.curbed.com/2019/6/10/18659841/evictions-homelessness-rent-burden-los-
angeles.
Charles, J. Brian. “Seizure City.” Playboy, December 17, 2019,
https://www.playboy.com/read/seizure-city?fbclid=IwAR3NiPhnn-
BsHBAS3bJv5DBBFEsMLEKIQYUli4SwlPwq6DrryFq8gtWqegY.
Chiland, Elijah. “Construction on Metro’s Crenshaw/LAX Line months behind schedule.”
Curbed Los Angeles, September 20, 2018,
https://la.curbed.com/2018/9/20/17883420/crenshaw-lax-line-construction-delay-
opening.
Crenshaw Subway Coalition Website. Accessed November 5, 2018.
https://www.crenshawsubway.org.

3
Destination Crenshaw Website. Accessed May 14, 2020.
https://destinationcrenshaw.la/architecture-design/.
Downtown Crenshaw Website. Accessed July 29, 2021.
https://www.downtowncrenshaw.com/downtowncrenshaw.
DiPrima, Dominique. “Damien Goodmon Citizens’ Campaign to Fix the Expo Rail Line.”
DominiqueDiPrima, April 25, 2011, https://www.dominiquediprima.com/damien-
goodmancitizens’-campaign-to-fix-the-expo-rail-line/.
Easter, Makeda. “Destination Crenshaw Art Project Aims to Reclaim the Neighborhood for
Black L.A.” Los Angeles Times, January 30, 2019.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-destination-crenshaw-20190130-
story.html.
Eden, Elana. “Zillow to Start Flipping Homes in California.” Planetizen, December 19,
2018,https://www.planetizen.com/news/2018/12/102052-zillow-start-flipping-homes-
california.
Exum, Cynthia E, and Maty Guiza-Leimert. 2002. Images of America: Leimert Park.
Charleston: Arcadia Publishing.
Fix Expo Blog. Accessed November 5, 2018. http://fixexpo.blogspot.com.
Flores, Jessica. “We Are At War: Crenshaw Residents Organizing to Fight Development.”
Curbed Los Angeles, September 30, 2019,
https://la.curbed.com/2019/9/30/20885553/gentrification-south-la-crenshaw-subway-
coalition.
Florida, Richard. “The Role of Public Investment in Gentrification.” Bloomberg, September 2,
2015, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-02/the-role-of-public-
investment-in-gentrification.
Gee, Khristopher. “Baldwin Hills Tenants Organize to Fight Eviction.” Spectrum News 1, April
29, 2019, https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/news/2019/04/27/tenants-fight-eviction-
in-baldwin-hills.
Glantz, Aaron and Emmanuel Martinez. “Kept Out: For People of Color, Banks Are Shutting
the Door to Homeownership.” Reveal, February 15, 2018,
https://revealnews.org/article/for-people-of-color-banks-are-shutting-the-door-to-
homeownership/.
Damien Goodmon. Community Activist. In-person interview. Los Angeles. November 6, 2018.
Goodmon, Damien. “Rail Line Must Go Undergound to Preserve, Protect Key Black L.A.
Business Corridor.” Los Angeles Wave, April 27, 2011,
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/crenshawsubway/legacy_url/91/lawave_110427.
pdf?1386468372.
Harris-Dawson, Marqueece. LA City Council Member. In-person interview. Los Angeles. April
4, 2019.

4
Harris-Dawson, Marqueece. LA City Council Member. In-person interview. Los Angeles.
March 28, 2019.
Harris-Dawson, Marqueece. LA City Council Member. In-person interview. Los Angeles.
December 12, 2018.
Holmes, Mona. “South LA Community Group Loses Bid to Acquire Crenshaw Mall Despite
Offering the Most Money” Eater Los Angeles, July 27, 2021,
https://la.eater.com/2021/7/27/22596400/crenshaw-mall-purchase-community-group-
gentrification-south-los-angeles.
Hymon, Steve. “Major Construction of Crenshaw/LAX Line to Begin Friday! Here Is What You
Need to Know. The Source/Metro, April 29, 2014,
https://thesource.metro.net/2014/04/29/major-construction-of-crenshawlax-line-to-
begin-friday-here-is-a-variety-of-info/comment-page-1/.
Jennings, Angel. “Nipsey Had A Plan to Beat Gentrification – in South LA and Across the US.”
Los Angeles Times, May 8, 2019, https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-nipsey-
hussle-opportunity-zone-tax-crenshaw-gentrification-20190508-story.html.
Jennings, Angel. “Selfie of White Joggers in African American Neighborhood Sets Off Debate,
and Quest for Understanding.” Los Angeles Times, March 10, 2017,
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-leimert-park-20170208-story.html.
Jennings, Angel. “Construction on Crenshaw/LAX line is Hurting Business, Merchants Say.”
Los Angeles Times, November 28, 2014, https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-
me-adv-crenshaw-closure-20141128-story.html.
Jones, Zerita. Community Activist. In-person interview. Los Angeles. May 2, 2019.
Kenney, Tanasia. “High Credit Scores Still Not Enough For Black Business To Secure Loans,
Federal Reserve Data Shows.” Atlanta Blackstar, January 17, 2020,
https://atlantablackstar.com/2020/01/17/high-credit-scores-still-not-enough-for-black-
businesses-to-secure-loans-federal-reserve-data-shows/.
Lansner, Jonathan. “Mortgage Injustice: Black People in LA are 87% More Likely to Get
Rejected for a Loan.” Los Angeles Daily News, July 7, 2020,
https://www.dailynews.com/2020/07/07/mortgage-injustice-blacks-twice-as-likely-to-
get-rejected-for-a-loan/.
Levin, Sam. “Revealed: How LAPD Targed Nipsey Hussle’s Street Corner and Store.” The
Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/07/revealed-nipsey-hussle-
lapd-the-marathon-clothing
Lovett, Ian. “Rail Plan Stirs Distrust Among Black Angelenos.” New York Times, November 28,
2012, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/29/us/rail-plan-stirs-distrust-among-blacks-in-
los-angeles.html.
Maddaus, Gene. “LA’s Newest City Council Member Represents a Lurch to the Left.” LA
Weekly, March 4, 2015, https://www.laweekly.com/l-a-city-councils-newest-member-
represents-a-lurch-to-the-left/.

5
McAllister, Sue. “LA’s Hilltop Oasis.” Los Angeles Times, December 27, 1998,
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-dec-27-re-57948-story.html.
McDonald, Patrick Range. “The Garcetti-fication of Los Angeles: A Gentrification Cautionary
Tale.” Ark Republic, October 17, 2019, https://www.arkrepublic.com/2019/10/17/the-
garcetti-fication-of-los-angeles-a-gentrification-cautionary-tale/.
McGahan, Jason. “LA’s Highest-Increasing Home Prices Are Along Metro’s Crenshaw Line.”
LA Weekly, July 15, 2017, https://www.laweekly.com/l-a-s-highest-increasing-home-
values-are-along-metros-crenshaw-line/.
Mendelson, Aaron. “Deceit, Disrepair and Death Inside a Southern California Rental Empire.”
LAist, February 12, 2020, https://projects.laist.com/2020/pama/.
Metro Website. Accessed November 5, 2018.
https://www.metro.net/projects/crenshaw_corridor/.
Molotsky, Irvin. “Reagan Expected to Cut Spending for the Arts.” New York Times, February 3,
1982, https://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/03/arts/reagan-expected-to-cut-spending-for-
the-arts.html.
Muhammad, Charlene. “South L.A. Pushes Back Against Gentrification.” LA Weekly, January
12, 2018. https://www.laweekly.com/south-l-a-pushes-back-against-gentrification/.
Mumin, Nijla. “The Calm Before the Storm of Gentrification on Crenshaw,” Los Angeles
Times, October 1, 2015, https://www.latimes.com/opinion/livable-city/la-ol-crenshaw-
gentrification-south-la-baldwin-plaza-20150930-story.html.
Nelson, Laura J. “Metro Breaks Ground on 2 Billion Crenshaw Light-Rail Line.” Los Angeles
Times, January 21, 2014, https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-crenshaw-line-
groundbreaking-20140121-story.html.
Newton, Damien. “Does Crenshaw Subway Coalition Have Enough Juice to Alter Metro’s
Plan’s Again?” Streets Blog, June 28, 2013, https://la.streetsblog.org/2013/06/28/does-the-
crenshaw-subway-coalition-have-enough-juice-to-alter-metros-crenshaw-plans-
again/.
Ong, Kimberly. Metro Executive. In-person interview. Los Angeles. December 2, 2018.
Parra, Alvaro. “Crenshaw Boulevard: Cruising Through the Decades.” KCET, October 23, 2013,
https://www.kcet.org/history-society/crenshaw-boulevard-cruising-through-the-
decades.
Pastor, Manuel. Professor of Sociology and American Studies at University of Southern
California. In-person interview. October 31, 2018.
Presha, Heather Lee. Real Estate Agent. In-person interview. Los Angeles. October 19, 2018.
Pudloski, Kelsey. “Homeowners in Formerly redlined LA Neighborhoods Have 524,000 Less
Home Equity.” Livabl, June 12, 2020, https://www.livabl.com/2020/06/formerly-
redlined-la-neighborhoods-equity.html.
Quarles, Charles. Developer. In-person interview. Los Angeles. May 5, 2019.

6
Quarles, Charles. Developer. In-person interview. Los Angeles. February 18, 2019.
Reft, Ryan. “How Prop 14 Shaped California’s Racial Covenants.” KCET, September 20, 2017,
https://www.kcet.org/shows/city-rising/how-prop-14-shaped-californias-racial-
covenants.
Romero, Dennis. “Amid Gentrification Fears, A Gang Crackdown Strikes in South LA.” LA
Weekly, November 28, 2017, https://www.laweekly.com/amid-gentrification-fears-a-
gang-crackdown-strikes-in-south-l-a/.
Romero, Dennis. “The Jungle: Baldwin Village P Stone Gang Crackdown Involves 900 Officers
for More than 50 Arrests.” LA Weekly, May 19, 2011, https://www.laweekly.com/the-
jungle-baldwin-village-p-stone-gang-crackdown-involves-900-officers-for-more-than-
50-arrests/.
Sequeira, Kate. “South Central Residents Stand Up for Better Living Conditions Through New
LA Tenants Union Chapter.” Intersections South LA, March 22, 2019,
https://medium.com/intersections-south-la/south-central-residents-stand-up-for-
better-living-conditions-through-new-la-tenants-union-chapter-d26d21bb0b70.
Sharp. Steven. “LA County and Metro to Seek Developers for Crenshaw Line Sites.” Urbanize
Los Angeles, December 19, 2016, https://urbanize.city/la/post/la-county-and-metro-
seek-developers-crenshaw-line-sites.
Smith, Dakota. “LA Looking to Create Big List of Foreclosed Properties.” Curbed Los Angeles,
December 11, 2009, https://la.curbed.com/2009/12/11/10525830/la-looking-to-create-big-
list-of-foreclosed-properties.
Smith, Erika D. ‘We May Lose This’ Despair Over Gentrification Reaches New Depths in
South L.A.’ Los Angeles Times, September 24, 2021,
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-09-24/post-covid-gentrification-fears-
hit-new-high-south-la.
Sulaiman, Sahra. “And So It Begins: Crenshaw Sees Major Street Closure and Reconfiguration
Starting Friday Night.” Streets Blog, May 1, 2014,
https://la.streetsblog.org/2014/05/01/and-so-it-begins-crenshaw-sees-major-street-
closure-and-reconfiguration-starting-friday-night/.
Tchekmedyian, Alene. “Prosecutors Say This Housing Complex is a Hotbed for Gang Crime
and They Think Its Owner Should Live There.” Los Angeles Times, November 28, 2017,
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-baldwin-village-lawsuit-20171127-
story.html.
Tessa Digital Collections of the Los Angeles Public Library. Accessed July 12, 2021.
https://tessa.lapl.org.
University Library Digital Collections at California State University Northridge. Accessed July
12, 2021. https://digital-library.csun.edu.
Woocher, Jacob. “Los Angeles Is Quickly Becoming A Place Exclusively for the White and
Rich.” Knock LA, November 7, 2017, https://knock-la.com/los-angeles-is-quickly-
becoming-a-place-exclusively-for-the-white-and-rich-c585953e0614/.

7
SCRIPT

FADE IN
Aerial view of Leimert Park/Crenshaw
Corridor construction.
Theme music fades in

SOT little girl in crowd reciting poem.
Lord don’t you think it’s time to make a
change?
Montage of city officials breaking ground
on construction site, a drum circle in
Leimert Park, Muslim man holding a bean
pie and a Final Call newspaper, a South
LA soccer team.

Why don’t You redo creation and make
everyone the same? God replied, “Why
did I make you black? Why did I make
you black?”

Historic Black figures painted on
Crenshaw wall/mural, Tom Bradley
Square sign, a woman dancing, local oil
fields, a man working on roof of home, a
homeless woman passed out on the grass.
I made you the color of coal, from which
beautiful diamonds are formed. I made
you the color of oil; the black gold that
keeps people warm. Your hair is the
texture of the lamb's wool;
Man playing shaker, the little girl reciting
the poem, women in white dancing,
Crenshaw Community sign, aerial view of
more construction.
Such a beautiful creature is he.
I am the Shepherd who watches them; I
will always watch over thee. You are the
color of the midnight sky; I put stars'
glitter in your eyes. There's a beautiful
smile hidden behind your pain; That is
why your cheeks are so high.

Drummers in Leimert Park, mini van
belonging to a homeless person, foliage at
a park, man playing guitar, Black Beverly
Hills billboard, father and son standing
outside their home,
You are the dark clouds of hurricanes I
create separate from you. I made your
lips so full and thick, gave you a broad
nose and kinky hair. So when people see
you once, they will remember. Your
texture is strong; your bone structure,
thick. To withstand the burden of time.
Construction on Crenshaw Bl., Nispey
Hussle with his daughter and business
partner outside his Marathon clothing
store, little girl reciting poem flanked by
other Peace Ride Poets.
The reflection you see in the mirror, the
image that looks back is mine. So get up
off your knees and look around. Tell me
what you see. Because I didn't make you
in the image of darkness; I made you in
the image of me.

TITLE CARD: The Long Road to
Revitalization

BRENTWOOD
High Rise Office Building in Brentwood

SOT CHARLES QUARLES
Developer & CEO, The Bedford Group

Charles working in his office. The view of
LA is magnificent. He taps away at the
computer, speaks earnestly on the phone.
I grew up here in Los Angeles,
California. 42nd and San Pedro. My
parents moved here from Alabama
probably three or four years before I
was born. So it's been at least 75 years or
so. I went to school here. I got drafted in
the army during the Vietnam War, and
when I got out of there I went to Cal
8
We see archival photos of Charles at the
prom, in the army, his Harvard Business
School diploma.
State LA for accounting. That was
between ‘70 and ‘72. Then I traveled
back east and I went to the Harvard
Business School.

BALDWIN VILLAGE
Palm trees, woman outside talking,
Obama naming ceremony /hip-hop
concert poster, Latinx grandma, a banana
tree.

Chesapeake Apartments Building

SOT ZERITA JONES
Community Activist

Zerita walks out of her building and runs
into her son.
Hey son. How are you doing? You're
doing an Uber/Lyft today? Grandma
was trying to put your boy to sleep.
Well, he's up there. He's not sleeping
yet. In there, screaming.
Zerita walks to car and opens trunk. Trio
of photos of young Zerita appear on
screen.

SOT ZERITA JONES

I graduated from Dorsey high across the
street in 1983. So, I've been watching the
neighborhood change slowly, from then
until now. This neighborhood had been
predominantly African-American and
Asian. So it's changed a lot.

BRENTWOOD
Charles Quarles’ Office

SOT CHARLES QUARLES
The first deal we did was 10 single-
family homes down in South Central
Los Angeles. We saw 10 adjacent, vacant
lots down near Florence and Figueroa.
And, we decided that it'd be a nice
location for some single-family homes.
And so these were lots that had been
repossessed by a savings and loan out of
San Diego. So I took a drive down to
San Diego and met with a gentleman.
And he asked for $3,000 a lot; I guess he
wanted to get them off his books.

Charles looking at development plans in
his office.

SOT CHARLES QUARLES

Cut to redlined map; cut to restrictive
covenant in View Park land deed.
That had to be 1978, 79. The houses sold
before they were built. Turned out that
even though banks pretty much
redlined that part of the city, if you
build single-family homes, people
would buy them. I mean, I don't think
that banks realized that even though it
was considered economically depressed,
that there were a middle-income people
who live there, and they live there
because they were restricted to moving
to other parts of the city.

SOT Newscaster LA Now Construction crews at the corner of
9
Crenshaw and Exposition boulevards
are laying the groundwork for the new
Crenshaw Metro line that will extend
8.5 miles south to Aviation Bl. bring
passengers one step closer to LAX
SOT CHARLES QUARLES I think it’s a good thing. It’s certainly
given Crenshaw a shot in the arm in
terms of real estate values and I believe
that once it’s completed, all along the
route there’ll probably be development
of retail and residential, and it’s a boon
to the community as far as I can tell.
BALDWIN VILLAGE
Zerita uses her walker to meander down
the street. She sees neighbors up ahead.

SOT ZERITA JONES
I am not excited about the train. Um,
being able to come from my
neighborhood and go to the airport.
That sounds like a, a wonderful idea.
But the displacement of all the people.
The fact that they want to change this
community without us, as opposed to
join us is very disturbing.

SOT ZERITA JONES We've been living in Chesapeake
Apartments, since about 2011, it was
actually a group of us that found out
that the city attorney's office had filed a
nuisance abatement lawsuit. Many of us
were thinking that it was regarding
habitability issues: mold, pests, vermin.
SOT ZERITA JONES We found out that that wasn't the case.
So there was an actual news broadcast
and [it] labeled the apartments, a
hotbed of crime and accused everyone
living here of being either a gang
member or a cocaine salesperson.
LEIMERT PARK
Police car whizzes by, Leimert Park
signage, vintage buildings. The heartbeat
of Black LA: .Jazz club, book stores,
cultural shops.

Ben Caldwell is organizing material sat his
multimedia art space, KAOS.

SOT BEN CALDWELL

Music fades in.
Almost the first week that I was in Los
Angeles. Larry Clark took me here and
introduced me to Alonzo. That was 1971.
This was the hangout for the black
artists. So all the artists were here and
he usually had a weekly art show or
something. People like Elizabeth Catlett,
Romare Bearden, and David Hammons
and Senga, all of these phenomenal
artists that lived here, they were
showcasing their work.

10
SOT BEN CALDWELL

'77, '78 and '79, I worked at Brockman
gallery. I was their curator. By ‘79, we
were starting to spread into Koreatown.
Actually it was starting to be more Black
there. So we had an office as part of
Brockman gallery on Crenshaw, near
Olympic at that time. Once Reagan
came in, he attacked all the art
institutions. So Brockman folded
almost. By the mid eighties, the crack
epidemic hit Los Angeles.

UNIVERSITY PARK
Shots of USC Village and the bustling
campus. Trader Joe’s. Students walking,
biking.

Dr. Manuel Pastor types on his computer
at his desk.

SOT DR. MANUEL PASTOR
Well, I think one of the things to
understand about South LA is that it
really got hard hit by the de-
industrialization of the 1970s and the
1980s. So when you look at the patterns
of de-industrialization in Los Angeles,
that big de-industrialization comes in
the 1990s, but the first early de-
industrialization really hit the Alameda
quarter and they hit the Black working
class super hard.

Images of unemployed Black people
looking for work.

SOT DR. MANUEL PASTOR

Images of drug bust at Jim Gilliam park in
Baldwin Village.
And this kind of deindustrialization and
job loss is met at the same time. The
wave of crack cocaine, and it helped to
create a phenomenon in which gangs,
which had long existed there, became
commercial operations, and defending a
park became not simply defending your
neighborhood, but defending a place
where you were doing business.

BALDWIN HILLS/CRENSHAW
Images of blight and new construction on
Crenshaw Bl., discount stores,
Crenshaw/LAX office awning.

Metro office. Receptionist Mimi works at
computer, two men exit an office. We see
a woman talking to someone.

SOT KIMBERLY ONG
Project Manager/Crenshaw LAX Transit
I started as the director of engineering,
where I was overseeing the design for
the project. Since then, I have been
promoted and now I'm serving as the
Deputy Project manager. So for that
role, I do support the team and our
senior directors for design and
construction.

SOT KIMBERLY ONG But I also support our project in
11
working with our stakeholders, which
includes the community and I work
with our elected officials and I also work
with our departments at our
headquarters.
Metro construction site: cranes, a worker
mixing cement. A cement truck passes,
construction workers constructing.

SOT KIMBERLY ONG

We're not quite on schedule of we're
working with our contractor to do the
best thing that they can to open up the
rail line. In the stages of our
construction, you have the initial part
where that, uh, you'll see. There's a lot of
work in the roadway where we do what
we call grading, where you do like your
site work. And then the next part, we
have a lot of our concrete work. We
finished all of our bridges, so that's all
done.

Underground: workers, train tracks, a
construction worker pulling electrical
wires.

SOT KIMBERLY ONG

We’re in the process of right now
finishing up laying our tracks; we're also
entering the next phase of what we call
with our systems work. So for our train,
it's not like the, the old freight where
they run on like coal or other means, we
run on electricity.
And in order to run on electricity, we
need to have power.
Kim is in the Metro office chatting with
Metro exec, Stephanie Leslie.

SOT KIMBERLY ONG

The good thing about this project is that
we do have active community members
because, we're, we're building this for
the community. We're not building it for
us.

CRENSHAW BLVD.
Insert map of South LA zooming in on
Crenshaw Bl. over a shot of the 10 fwy.

SOT BEN CALDWELL
It was a Black Sunset Bl. Let's say you
get off on Crenshaw going south off the
10 freeway. Leo's barbecue was there
with the smell…
Images of Crenshaw Bl. back in the day.

SOT BEN CALDWELL
You would see beautiful Black bodies,
men and women just kind of like
meandering, moving through the
streets, all these fantastic cars.

SOT BEN CALDWELL A little bit further and there was a
phenomenal bowling alley that had a
sushi bar. Then there was the
magnificent Baldwin Hills shopping
center that went all the way down to
Angeles Funeral Home. Baldwin Hills
12
was the first shopping center in Los
Angeles so it had all the high-end stores.
SOT BEN CALDWELL You go up a little further, there was the
Piped Piper with a bunch of blues folks,
and then across the street was Kingston
12 with all the rastas up in it.
And then Total Experience had all of
what was at the Roxy. So that's kind of
like what the hood looked like.
News footage of major fire burning.

SOT BEN CALDWELL

All of those things got burnt out.

SOT Newscaster
NBC4 Live
John we’re at Crenshaw and Slauson
we’re finally getting fire units on the
scene here.
SOT Newscaster

Rodney King beating; Reginald Denny
beating; Looting at Tom’s Liquor store
where the uprising kicked off.
This home video of the police beating of
Rodney King was not enough to
convince the jury that the officers were
guilty of excessive use of force. The
verdicts took many people by surprise.
SOT Newscaster

As you can see, this is a major fire here
in the Crenshaw district. And I doubt if I
have seen 12 police officers, within a one
square mile area of this particular site.
SOT DR. MANUEL PASTOR

You know, if you look at the pattern of
unrest that emerged after the verdict, in
that trial, it was actually much more
connected to economic conditions than
it even was to racial conditions.
Certainly, there was a reaction to
policing, but the neighborhoods in
which the unrest occurred were actually
majority Latino,

SOT Newscaster

Images of looting in Latino
neighborhoods.
Latina woman speaks out.
Latino businesses thought they were
protecting themselves with signs that
said ‘Let's not destroy ourselves…’ We so
afraid and we sad because this is our
people. People from Central America,
Mexico, everywhere…” Latino’s came to
Los Angeles for hope and opportunity.
Often they found discrimination.

SOT MANUEL PASTOR

Images taken the day after the uprising:
smoldering fires, anti-cop graffiti, burned
buildings everywhere.
Both Latinos and African-Americans
were in neighborhoods where the
unemployment rates were twice as high.
The poverty rates were twice as high,
the rates of home ownership were half,
the rates of per capita income were half
of what they were in the rest of the city.
13
And it really signaled to the world that
that moment of unrest was driven as
much by economic disenfranchisement,
as it was from racial
disenfranchisement.
Imagery of Crenshaw Bl, the day after the
uprising.

SOT DR. MANUEL PASTOR

The city tried to respond with
something that was called rebuild LA,
where they were trying to attract
corporate investment into south. But it
really wasn't a successful thing.
These were exactly the same
corporations that had abandoned South
LA. So expecting them to go back in and
invest was pretty much a fool's errand.

Shot of Expo line train crossing; Crenshaw
line construction.

SOT DR. MANUEL PASTOR

So I think what's going on is that now
that there's this public investment, that's
come in through the rail lines. That is
the expo line that cuts across the
Northern part. South LA the Crenshaw
line. That's going to be bringing in a lot
of traffic along Crenshaw. People are
beginning to look to new locations.

INGLEWOOD
Where Crenshaw Bl. turns into
Inglewood.

SOT HEATHER PRESHA
Agent, Presha Properties/Keller Williams
Inglewood

Heather walks down the street to her
office. Enters building, elevator.

Insert map of South LA neighborhoods.
The South LA neighborhoods that have
been considered the hottest, or as some
say, up and coming, I would say the
most desirable is, uh, View Park.
Baldwin Vista Baldwin Hills Crenshaw
Manor, Leimert Park, Windsor Hills.

SOT HEATHER PRESHA

Nine years ago, you could buy a
$350,000 Spanish style, three bedroom,
two bath in the heart of the Crenshaw
district. And if you went a little bit
further up the hill and to view park, you
could buy something for about 500,000,
2000 square feet with a fat view of the
entire city.

SOT HEATHER PRESHA

So those days are long gone. But when I
first started, that's how it was. Investors
started coming over here wanting to
purchase homes for, you know, under
market, And, uh, turn them into homes
that look like they might be found on
the east side, making lots of money,
flipping these homes, raising the values
14
that come here.

SOT HEATHER PRESHA

A lot of them stripped the character and
just originality of the homes. It's sad,
you know, but one of the major
concerns has been about the fabric of
the community. Being, uh, shuffled,
there's an affordability factor that's been
going on in Los Angeles and what's
happened than just people have been
completely priced out of the west side
and the east side.

SOT HEATHER PRESHA

I mean, they can no longer afford to
purchase a home in those areas that has
the character and style and space and
proximity that they need. I would say
the place that we're at right now is at the
tippy top. I mean, the highest sale that
we had, uh, so far is $1.2 million in alert
this, I mean, the people that live in the
community, the buyer pool for that
purchase price, it's getting smaller and
smaller and smaller.

SOT HEATHER PRESHA

Something has to happen with regards
to these prices. If you're buying a home
at a $950,000, then how much equity
will you have in that house over the
long run? Not too much. So, you know,
having to sell people homes under that
guise it's a little nerve wracking.

VIEW PARK
Drive by scenic pocket park.
SOT CHARLES QUARLES

Charles walks out the gigantic doors of his
mansion located atop a hill in View Park.
He gets in his luxury vehicle. Drives off.
When I first started, there was very little
development going on in South LA. I
guess people were afraid to develop
south of the 10 freeway. And so I saw
that there was a niche there. Despite its
reputation with lenders and developers,
I could see that there was potential
profit there.

ACTUALITY CHARLES QUARLES

Charles pulls up to two luxury buildings a
stone’s throw from his home and points
out.

Two buildings here, we call this one
Bedford Park. It's 70 units of
condominiums and this one back here is
called Bedford Promenade. It's 102 units
of condominiums. So we bought this
land some years ago and put these two
buildings here. So upscale
condominiums.
15

SOT CHARLES QUARLES

Charles stands on the land and looks out
where he plans to build his newest
development.

Cut to petition and highlight HOA letter
opposing the build.
The View is an 88-condominium unit
project. I think that is a great location.
It's on a hill. So we will have
commanding views of most of the LA
basin, including the ocean. So it's very
nice project. But there are just some
people who believe that the
development is inappropriate for the
area.

SOT Newscaster
Spectrum 1

Images of Zerita entering the courthouse
downtown. Inside the courtroom.
Speaking with attorneys.
I’m Kristopher Gee in Los Angeles. I’ll
introduce you to Zerita Jones who when
faced with her own eviction decided to
stand up and make her voice heard.
BALDWIN VILLAGE

SOT ZERITA JONES We noticed immediately that there were
changes that were happening on the
property: fences and the lights, with
cameras that fed directly to the Los
Angeles police department. Millions of
dollars worth of changes, but they
weren't solving any of the habitability
issues inside. We as tenants didn't see
the point. So, with that, the tenants
association was formed and we
intervened in the lawsuit.

WINDSOR HILLS
Slauson Donuts; Neighborhood homes
SOT HEATHER PRESHA

Heather’s home. Sitting at the table
working,

Heather’s husband walks by and goes into
the kitchen.
After moving back from New York City
with Miles, my husband, we were living
with a friend and we were trying to
decide where we were going to live.
Something about Leimert Park that I
just, I loved. And I found a home. And
before I knew it, I was the block club
captain. I had a lot of club meetings
right on my front lawn. I would have to
send texts and tweets and all kinds of
stuff to say, Hey, you wouldn't do this in
Westwood. Now, would you? We need
you to come over here and fix this
pothole!

Heather washes up in the bathroom. Fixes
her hair. Touches up her makeup.
We had a lot of water, main breaks,
things like that. I mean, it just was a
16

SOT HEATHER PRESHA

serious neglect from the city. You know,
I haven't seen any communities in Los
Angeles that are anything like Leimert
Park. There's organized block clubs, the
Leimert Park Carolers, they come out
and sing every Christmas, you know,
they have a bike club.

ACTUALITY HEATHER PRESHA

Heather yells out to her youngest son. She
pulls him close, gives him squeeze and a
pep talk.
Vince give me a hug!
Okay. Get in there. No standing around.

People say hello and good morning to
each other.

Cut to Heather’s older son at the front
door.

SOT Older Son
Okay. All right. Good luck. Have fun.
Win. Score a goal.
SOT HEATHER PRESHA

Heather flipping through documents at
the table.

Cut to drummers at Leimert Park.
I moved out of Leimert Park and I
moved into the home where I am now,
which I am purchasing, in Windsor
Hills. It’s a fixer-upper, it's a great
neighborhood, but it's just not Leimert.
To this day, every time I go to Leimert
Park and I hear the drums and I see
people dancing, man, there's something
that happens in my soul that just makes
me feel like I'm at home.

MANCHESTER SQUARE
Western and 79
th
St exterior. M’Dear’s
Bistro & Bakery. Coffee with the
Councilman.

SOT COUNCIL MEMBER MARQUEECE
HARRIS-DAWSON
LA City Council, District 8
Every big city in the country and a lot of
big cities have this sort of uneven
investment, right. And so some
communities seem to get upgraded,
spruced up and invested in all the time
while their neighbors up the road, down
the road, around the bend, right there in
the same town are seeing the opposite
conditions.

SOT COUNCIL MEMBER MARQUEECE
HARRIS-DAWSON

And that's been the case here in South
Los Angeles. Some of that is systemic.
It's just baked into the way things are
done, whether it's the way insurance
companies decide where they'll write
policies, whether the bonding
companies decide if they're only going
to bond in certain places, whether banks
decide whether or not they're going to
17
invest. Equity is a big buzzword and
litmus tests for almost any major policy
in the city of Los Angeles. And so we get
that, but sometimes equity isn't equal.
So sometimes equity means we might
need a little bit more and someone else
might need a little bit less. And so that's
always a big fight. That's just on the
public sector side.

SOT COUNCIL MEMBER MARQUEECE
HARRIS-DAWSON

What we still have very serious
problems with, is the corporate sector.
So, you know, grocery store chains will
build one store, right on top of each
other in certain parts of town. And then
we can't get them to build a
supermarket here. And if they do build
a supermarket here, they put the lowest
quality produce there. They put the
lowest quality meats there. They put the
lowest quality dairy products there. And
so, as a result, you go, well, do we even
want this grocery store? I mean, is it
even worth what it took to get it right?

SOT COUNCIL MEMBER MARQUEECE
HARRIS-DAWSON

So the, the solutions I'm most excited
about are the solutions that are home
grown, the solutions where, uh, people
have a stake in the neighbors Are the
folks doing the investment in the
neighborhood or attracting or managing
the investment into the neighborhood?
Because I know they got to live there.
SOT

Music fade in

HYDE PARK
Train tracks, murals, Crenshaw High
School, neighborhood homes, our first
apartment building on 10
th
Ave., Stone’s
Restaurant & Grocery, Crenshaw at 64
th
,
northbound on Crenshaw; gunshots

SOT Newscasters

Sirens. Ambulance. Police. Fans gathered
at Marathon Clothing store.

At 3:25 this afternoon, LAPD officers
responded to a shooting call at a local
retail store here at the 3400 block of
west Slauson. A gunman opens fire.
This talented 33-year-old rapper was
shot and killed at his clothing shop in
the neighborhood he was helping to
build back up. Nipsey Hussle was up for
Best Rap Album at this year’s GRAMMY
18
Image of Nipsey Hussle. Shirtless. Tattoo
on back reads: Slauson Boy
Awards. It’s a major loss for the music
world and the local community. He
leaves behind two children.

LEIMERT PARK

Fade in drumming.

Art & Practice sign: Time is running out.

Several men and women are gathered in
Leimert Park to form a drum circle. Led by
“Pop.”

ACTUALITY Pop

Pop stops drumming to share a few words
of wisdom.
African Drummer Pop: What we doing,
it's not only drumming -- not drumming
to have fun. It’s drumming to heal the
people, to heal the whole village. But we
gotta learn how to heal the people from
this.

Drumming resumes.

Cut to KAOS where Ben is holding a
community meeting.

ACTUALITY Community member
speaking passionately.

Several men and women gathered at
KAOS to discuss the impending
gentrification of their neighborhoods and
fight back.
However you want to feel where you
want to have this, want to field? The fact
it matters big money has decided.
They're doing something here and they
for sure for sure, don't care about none
of the people you just through talking
about. What I know for a fact, the
reason this meeting is happening is only
because he’s trying to get us to organize
in a fashion so that this community
doesn't get left behind is right.

SOT BEN CALDWELL

When Leimert Park was not included in
one of the stops I and everybody else
were up in arms, we thought that there
should be. I think that to cut us off of the
umbilical cord to the world seemed
pretty horrible.

SOT ZERITA JONES I don't understand how that can be
overlooked. I don't understand how
could a program or something so
important have such a big error.

SOT COUNCIL MEMBER MARQUEECE
HARRIS-DAWSON
You know, I, I think Metro, uh, some
analyst or engineer in an office in a very,
very tall building, far away from South
LA, got some paper with some data on it
19
and they made a mathematical decision
that was cold, that was disconnected
and out of context.

SOT COUNCIL MEMBER MARQUEECE
HARRIS-DAWSON
And so you end up with somebody who
doesn't have any idea what Leimert Park
is and why you wouldn't want to pass
there without a station or, that you
would on a major corridor in the only
African-American community left in
Southern California -- you'd run a train
down the middle of the street, right?
SOT COUNCIL MEMBER MARQUEECE
HARRIS-DAWSON
That is because that person's out of
context and they're not thinking about,
oh, no other major street in LA county
has a train running at grade down the
middle of it. Not Sunset, not Hollywood,
not Wilshire, not La Cienega, not any of
the major thoroughfares in our city.
And that would be particularly insulting
to a community who's been insulted in
almost every possible way by the public
and private sectors.

ACTUALITY KIMBERLY ONG

Kimberly on the phone in her
Crenshaw/LAX office.
Hi Marvin, this is Kimberly Ong. I was
calling to see if we can squeeze in a
schedule meeting tomorrow after the
risk workshop. Could you please give
me a call (213)…

SOT KIMBERLY ONG When we first were going to award the
project, it was going to include eight
stations, but two of them were optional.

It's so important. I mean, there's so
much history at Leimert Park and
having that connection, it's something
that Metro wanted to do, but we did
have budget constraints.

SOT COUNCIL MEMBER MARQUEECE
HARRIS-DAWSON

Cut to Crenshaw Subway Coalition
Showdown at MTA flyer; Cut to photo of
Damion Goodmon with members of Park
Mesa Heights Community Council
holding “It aint over ’til its under and
there’s a station at Leimert Park” poster.

Well, I mean, a community organize
and confronted. That's the only way to
say it. And I think part of the
community said, if you can't figure out a
stop at the Leimert Park and you can't
figure out how to get either above grade
or below grade, maybe there isn't going
to be a train down Crenshaw. And I
think they sent that message
resoundingly.
SOT COUNCIL MEMBER MARQUEECE
HARRIS-DAWSON
And I think, you know, the leadership at
that time, of which I was not a part,
20
made a deal that there would be a very
nice world-class state-of-the-art station
at Leimert Park,as it should be.
And that the train would run at grade,
for the section between Leimert Park
and Slauson Bl.

BALDWIN VILLAGE
SOT ZERITA JONES

Zerita continues making the rounds
around the sprawling apartment complex.
With the settlement, we got a $50 gift
card from Albertson. So every unit got a
$50 gift card. And then on top of it, we
literally got the entire complex painted
and some of the windows were changed.
They weren't allowed to kick back those
costs onto us.

Cut to photo of Zerita with Alicia Rhoden
of the Chesapeake tenants association; Cut
to image of court documents.
One of the other things that we were
able to accomplish was that the judge
decided that because of what's going on
in the city, that for the next three years,
they're not allowed to massively evict us
or utilize the Ellis act and remove the
property off of the rental market, or, um,
do anything of that nature.

SOT ZERITA JONES

So unless we don't pay our rent or, you
know, do something illegal in our unit
or destroy the property, we're literally,
uh, protected better than the majority of
the tenants here. At least ‘til September
of 2021.

VIEW PARK-WINDSOR HILLS
SOT CHARLES QUARLES

People have fears of change, so. This is
not the first time that I’ve faced
opposition in that particular
community. I built another project not
very far from there.
Charles stands on his undeveloped land
looks out into the distance.
As a developer, we expect opposition.
So I'm not frustrated by it. I just do
something that you have to and get
through. The fears of gentrification, I
guess it is justified because I think
gentrification will in fact occur.
Hopefully it can be mitigated in some
ways, but, I'm a developer, so I like to
see development and I think south LA
does need new development.

UNIVERSITY PARK
SOT DR. MANUEL PASTOR What I tend to think about with
21
The professor walks into the main office
to check in with his assistant about lunch.
gentrification is whether or not there's
displacement going on, because if you
think about, a neighborhood which
finds itself with higher income residents
who may help to bring sort of fancier
coffee shops or, better food, or, different
restaurants.

SOT DR. MANUEL PASTOR

So a lot of times people actually
appreciate some of those changes; What
they don't appreciate is when they're not
able to stick around to be able to enjoy
them. So I think that the one thing we
really need to be thinking about is that
we want development without
displacement.
SOT DR. MANUEL PASTOR

South LA has been and fighting for 40
to 50 years to get the kind of investment
it needs for its people. And now that
some of that is arriving, you don't really
want the people who stuck it out to be
not the ones who enjoy what the
benefits that it might bring.

BALDWIN VILLAGE
ACTUALITY ZERITA JONES
Elderly man holds gate open for Zerita as
she makes her way up the front path with
her walker.
Oh, you got it. All right. Thank you.
SOT ZERITA JONES

Right now, it's just like an apartment
grab, you know, the moment someone
moves out of one of our units, it
immediately goes up $600, if not more
to market rates. Prop 10 in itself would
have allowed for much more affordable
housing or at least rent control that
would have stabilized the area.

SOT ZERITA JONES

Like my neighbor upstairs. They've
been here over 40 years. Where are they
going to go? They're both living on a, on
a retirement and a fixed income. And
now the good shepherd manner,
someone has bought that and they're
throwing out all of the elderly and
disabled people. One of the tenants that
I know that live there now is 95 years
old. That has been a senior citizens
building, goodness gracious, since I can
remember. And they're being displaced,
We're seeing a lot more homeless come
from that; they're just not able to find
22
another affordable place to stay.

SOT COUNCIL MEMBER MARQUEECE
HARRIS-DAWSON
Housing is a tough issue. We need
housing at all levels. I was proud to be
the author of measure HHH and this
program brought $1.4 billion to build
permanent supportive housing for
people who are struggling with
homelessness, not just in South LA, but
all around the city. We need affordable
housing. And so I'm proud that, in the
eighth district we've done more
affordable housing units, than any other
district in the city. And we look forward
to state programs that allow us to do
more as well.

LEIMERT PARK
Vision theater steeple,
ACTUALITY BEN CALDWELL It's the same height.
SOT BEN CALDWELL

Ben outside stapling hand painted banner
with the help of an LP Art Walk volunteer.

Well, the Leimert Park Art Walk, I just
emulated Brockman Gallery, when we
used to block off the streets and then
just throw a, throw a black, fun party.
Like a gumbo let everybody throw what
they have into it that are really artists,
then you turn out with something
wonderful.

Ben walks around the bend to see
longtime Leimert Park artist, Bongo.

SOT BEN CALDWELL

How I work with the Art Walk is to
really work with the artists. And so we
build up the art in a strong way.

ACTUALITY Bongo

Bongo points out for Ben the design
details on a shirt hanging in his booth.
It's actually in the fabric.

SOT BEN CALDWELL

Almost every one of the art
organizations have worked with us
periodically throughout the years. All of
us gave up all of these 10 years to make
something enriched for the
neighborhood with almost no funds.
Our collateral was our culture, you
know. I wanted it to fuse an artistic
neighborhood together that doesn't
always seem like it.

ACTUALITY Clown makes balloons for a
couple outside KAOS in Leimert Park Plaza
(aka People Street),
Dark blue, dark blue
23

Drumming ensues.

Ben is nearby setting up sound system.

Crowd gathers, lots of women in white,
orange shirts, people on bikes, wearing
motorcycle jackets, carrying helmets, all
walking towards People Street.

ACTUALITY Monthly Peace Ride
converges on Leimert Park

Minister addresses the crowd.
Wherever we find them we want them
to know that these mothers, who went
through fainting and pain to give birth
to their children -- we're riding in their
names now. We’re asking us now let's
stop the killing of us by us. Enough is
enough.

ACTUALITY Minister There's an area called China, they got a
town, there's an area called Korea, they
got a town. There's a area called little
Armenia, Little Bangladesh. Now, this
area called Leimert Park, we are
declaring it little Africa Town! That we
can give life to a movement in support
of each other. We will not stop riding
until there is total peace.

SOT COUNCIL MEMBER MARQUEECE
HARRIS-DAWSON

Cut to construction on Crenshaw Bl;
Destination Crenshaw renderings.
The train is still running at grade and
it’s cause for a great amount of concern
in the community. I'm excited because I
think we've turned that very, very bad
problem into an opportunity. We are
debuting Destination Crenshaw. What
we want to do is put on our streets, the
cultural history of African-American
people in the west coast. And so, when
you go down that corridor, one you'll
know what community you're in, you'll
know the history and what their story
has been.

SOT CHARLES QUARLES

Charles signing checks in his office.

In terms of looking at the plans, it's just
going to be architecturally, it will be
very nice. I think that it will take some
time for a lot of the strip along
Crenshaw to get developed, but I think
it will happen. I think it will enhance the
entire community, I think it's a good
thing for the community, and I believe
24
that the kind of retailers that you want
to see in the community, some of them
will come to the community because
they realize that there are the income
levels there to support those retailers.

ACTUALITY HEATHER PRESHA

Heather is back home. She checks in on
her older son knocking out homework in
his bedroom.
Hey, did you eat anything? Was it good?
SOT HEATHER PRESHA

10 or 20 years from now when my kids
are grown, I see some different faces,
some different places. I see the
Crenshaw Corridor completely
transformed. I hope to see that my
children are still here in South LA. That
is my greatest hope, that they will stay
here and make it all that it can be.

SOT ZERITA JONES

Image of Zerita at Rent Affordability Act
protest and rally in in LA.
My goal is to get as much knowledge as I
possibly can on the options that people
like us have that are in rent, stabilized
units that are becoming a hot
commodity. I believe after tenants know
their rights and the owners know theirs,
we keep each other honest. I think, I
think fairness, we're not asking for a
hand. We're just asking not to be taken
advantage of and trampled over.

SOT DR. MANUEL PASTOR If we focus our attention on schools that
are not doing well, if we commit
ourselves to reducing criminalization, if
we make sure that every dollar we
spend on these rail lines is yielding
multiple dollars in terms of public
benefits, that future's bright.

LEIMERT PARK
ACTUALITY Ben Caldwell approaches
the microphone on People Street.

I want to tell everybody we have two
events…
SOT BEN CALDWELL Unapologetically Black -- icons,
iconography, artists, and I think that's
the general tenor of Leimert Park is
we're going to do our future
unapologetically Black.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES
City Hall. American flags waving atop
building, people walking hallway, Nipsey
I’ll ask you all for an enthusiastic I vote
on renaming Crenshaw and Slauson
25
Hussle Square signage. Councilmember at
podium addressing a packed room during
special LA City Council meeting.

ACTUALITY COUNCIL MEMBER
MARQUEECE HARRIS-DAWSON
Nipsey Hussle Square. We'll take a vote.
I expect the vote to be successful.
SOT COUNCIL MEMBER MARQUEECE
HARRIS-DAWSON
The future is that South LA remains a
place, uh, that that is the historic and
future home of African Americans,
South LA will remain the conscience of
Southern California. The Crenshaw line
will be running smoothly andthe world
will see. Crenshaw will become a
destination to participate in and
consume African American culture with
African American people and folks from
around the world.

ACTUALITY voice of City Council
leader.

Tabulate the vote.

10 I.
Audience claps and cheers loudly Nispey Hussle Square, here I come!
Music fades in.

Council member Harris Dawson presents
the plaque to Nipsey Hussle’s father who
lifts the plaque up for all to see.

ACTUALITY Nipsey Hussle appears on a
screen inside City Council chambers.

Fade out
Stay inspired. Show love to your people.
TITLE CARDS:
As of September 2021, Zerita and the
tenants of Chesapeake Apartments are no
longer protected by the judge’s order. The
owner is now free to sell the multi-acre
property if he so chooses.

Construction has not yet begun on The
View, but Charles hopes to break ground
on the luxury condominium project in
2022.

Heather recently bought a townhome in
Inglewood where she resides with her
family. They are keeping the Windsor
Hills property and turning it into a bed
and breakfast.

26

Metro’s Crenshaw-LAX project has been
riddled with construction delays since
breaking ground in 2014, but officials say
the 2.1 billion light rail line will finally
open in 2022.

The experiential, 1.3-mile, open-air
museum celebrating Black history and
culture, Destination Crenshaw, is set to
open in fall 2022.

CREDITS
Writer/Director/Producer: Tracii
McGregor

Asset Metadata

Creator McGregor, Tracii (author)

Core Title The long road to revitalization

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Specialized Journalism

Degree Conferral Date 2022-05

Publication Date 02/05/2024

Defense Date 01/21/2022

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Baldwin Hills,Ben Caldwell,Black neighborhood,Crenshaw,Destination Crenshaw,Dr. Manuel Pastor, activism,Ellis Act,gentrification,Heather Presha,homeless,housing crisis,Hyde Park,LA City Council Member Marqueece Harris-Dawson,Lax,Leimert Park,Metro,Nipsey Hussle,nuisance abatement,OAI-PMH Harvest,Racism,Real estate,redlining,revitalization,Slauson,South Los Angeles,View Park,Windsor Hills,Zerita Jones

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Advisor Turner, Miki (committee chair), Blush, Douglas (committee member), Frazier, Robeson Taj (committee member)

Creator Email sophiamc@usc.edu,traciimcgregor@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC110618314

Unique identifier UC110618314

Legacy Identifier etd-McGregorTr-10379

Document Type Thesis

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights McGregor, Tracii

Type texts

Source 20220207-usctheses-batch-911 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given.

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email uscdl@usc.edu

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Born in London to Jamaican parents, I immigrated with my family to Los Angeles in 1974. We landed in the Crenshaw District, where my grandfather lived. Windsor Hills to be exact. My mother, two older siblings and I stayed in one room at Grandpa’s house for a few months until we found a modest, 3-bedroom apartment just down the hill in Hyde Park. ❧ I was only four years old at the time but vividly remember the neighborhood in those days. Bustling with beautiful, Black people from across the diaspora, in many ways, it reminded me of the North West London community we left behind. Luckily for us, Stone’s Grocery & Restaurant, the first Caribbean eatery in the area – was a few blocks from our place. They still have the best Jamaican patties in the city! ❧ Black-owned businesses thrived in the area, supported mainly by their own. On Saturday mornings, we took a short bus ride to Leimert Park, where I was enrolled in ballet and tap dance classes. After class, I would frolic around the village with my brother and sister, soaking up the rich, cultural arts scene. I even had a Black pediatrician, Dr. Holden, who had an office in the old medical building on Stocker. ❧ In the early ’80s, we moved out of the Crenshaw District and into the Miracle Mile District, and years later to the San Fernando Valley, where I finished junior high and high school. But Crenshaw, my first adopted home, would always remain close to my heart. Once I was old enough to drive, I’d regularly make my back to the old neighborhood and stop at Stone’s for some rice and peas with fish gravy and, of course, those famous patties. ❧ A few years after college, in the mid ’90s, I moved across country to New York, where I lived and worked for 15 years. When I relocated back to Los Angeles after having my son in late 2010, there were already signs of change in the Crenshaw District. By the time Metro began building the Crenshaw/LAX line in Fall of 2014, the conversations around gentrification, particularly that of the Westside, the Eastside, Downtown, Hollywood and now South LA, had reached a fever pitch. ❧ This film gives voice to the stakeholders of Black Los Angeles.