Black Angelinos- Black people born and raised or whom have resettled in Los Angeles, are suffering at a deep, collective psychic level – holding on to a life saver ring to resist the current of gentrification and displacement. Holding on to the threads of family, health, community, sense of belonging, and sense of self.
Homelessness; personal, interpersonal, and community violence; mental illness; chronic health condition, low-wage jobs; high wage housing – all symptoms and conditions of systems that disproportionately impact Black lives at every level of the socio-economic level. Black wealth is only 1/20th of white wealth in 2018.
This has been a rising tide. I remember my mom and step-dad moving from L.A. in the early 1990’s to transplant to Tennessee where they bought land, relearned nature, and even opened a cat fish farm. A first-generation Angelino – I also remember telling my mom I would not move back to Cali, it was too depressing.
Yet, the spirit of L.A. called me back home. It is still depressing yet it is in the shadow that we must work and stand strong with a plan to stay so that our sanded footprints in the creation of the L.A. we have today – contributions to the film industry, music, architecture, shape of neighborhoods, government services, and overall diversity – are not erased in the sweeping of an evening breeze.
Yesterday I was inspired by South Central artist Lauren Halsey at a talk about her exhibit – “Space is the Place” in a curated conversation by artist, activist, founder of Dignity Now, and co-founder of Black Lives Matter – Patrisse Cullors. In her piece, artist Halsey owns her space, her right to being, through capturing her stories, life events, relationships, and aspirations of the future in her art installation – a “transcendent space” cast resembling a mausoleum to stand the test of time. It reminded me of mausoleums in a cemetery that i visited in Jacmal, Haiti where a little extra, extra was stored to sustain and protect the soul of community.
In her opening remarks Artivist Cullors shared her story how she was a 4th generation Angelino. That her great-grandparents fled the South to come her for liberation and new opportunities. And yet, with intense – and far too many times lethal -engagement with law enforcement, Black Angelinos are fleeing L.A. to northern and southern So Cal regions or out of state all together. She, however, has made a commitment to stay. So resist. To create. To “recolonize” space and organize community to remind folks of the right to be.
Found throughout the surface inside and out of the installation are images of Halsey’s “love affairs” with the city where she was born and raised. She remembers the names of the women killed by the Grim Reaper, she captures the low riders, hair styles, children preparing for the future, and more. She gives hopes and honors those whose lives were cut short too soon. This is a temporary piece part of the Made in LA 2018 exhibit- up until Sept. 2. A permanent piece will be installed along the Crenshaw line in the next two years.
As I grabbed an uber home, the driver – a single Black father, shared the difficulties of raising a young Black boy in L.A. today. The story was a painful one and the outcome is grime. Yet I thought of the intention behind Lauren’s work and its meaning took on a new sense of urgency for me. In a fight for survival, we must create community reflections of our footprints, our stories, our relationships, our cultural icons- for these are breadcrumbs- icons- on a path toward survival. I encourage all to see this exhibit and take a young one.
In the meantime, during these times, pray for your connection to a higher power. Do not mark your value in comparison to something here on earth. We each have the opportunity to fulfill a unique destiny- we just must cultivate our own head so that our head and feet are in alignment to guide our path. In Ifa, we call our head- not just the physical but the crown chakra – our Ori. We pray so that our Ori’s are strong and in alignment with our higher power. We also pray for the Ori’s of our children and love ones so that they too may be strong. One of my favorite Ori prayers is:
“Ori mi ye o, ja ja fun mi. Eda mi ye o, ja ja fun mi. Ase” – ” Inner Spirit pleace fight, fight for me. Creator please fight, fight for me. May it be so.”
May we fight for our space in the L.A. ecosystem and the protection of our place to Be.
Alisa's thoughts on Beloved Communities 