OAXACALIFORNIA: OAXACAN AMERICANS IN L.A.

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First up, enjoy a new Intro for the podcast! Followed by a few notes on the week from yours truly, including on the tragic passing of Mirna Soza while boarding L.A. Metro’s B Line on Monday, April 22nd, as well as on the Armenian Genocide of 1915, commemorated every year on April 24th.

Then, from Columbia University to USC, this week belonged to Students for Palestine! In this spirit, this episode of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast features Sarah Orozco, a 1st-generation, low-income, Oaxaqueña at UC Berkeley, class of ’24. Earlier this year, Sarah actually interviewed yours truly on what it means to be Oaxacan-American in the current media landscape, the Bracero program of World War II, which brought many Oaxaqueños to the U.S. for the first time during the 1940s and 1950s, and much more!

Speaking of Oaxaqueñas, please also check out Areli Morales Lopez’s latest for Making a Neighborhood, “The Last Laundromat by Venice Beach,” here. Also remember that Making Our Neighborhood: Redlining, Gentrification and Housing (2021), the magazine, is once again available for purchase. Grab your copy for you and your neighborhood, here.

Last but certainly not least, to make a one-time donation to my nonprofit work for working-class communities in Los Angeles, please do so here. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast for as little as $5 a month, check out my page at patreon.com/jimbotimes.

J.T.

DOWNTOWN L.A.’s GRAFFITI TOWERS

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In this installment of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast yours truly sits down with P, the horrible vandal, to discuss L.A. City Council’s recent approval of over $4 million to “remove graffiti covering three abandoned skyscrapers in downtown L.A., secure the site, and restore the public right of way on the adjacent sidewalks.” We also go over the state of L.A. graff’ in the era of TikTok, and how it just may dove-tail with the [2028] Olympics scheduled to come back to town soon. It’s a truly can’t-miss episode and we salute @therobinsonspace for our special studio-time!

Find our latest for Making a Neighborhood, “The Eviction Machine of Los Angeles,” here. Also, did you know that Making Our Neighborhood: Redlining, Gentrification and Housing (2021), the magazine, is once again available for purchase? Grab your copy today, which supports only more storytelling and documenting for our communities, here.

(0:01) Hey, what’s going on Los Angeles? It’s J.T. and it’s Friday, April 12th, 2024
(0:25) Before we get started, a slight correction for the record
(0:44) Re: the marches for Immigrant Rights in the United States…
(1:05) Let’s take this opportunity to go through a brief list of the largest marches ever? THE TOP 5, historically, are…
(3:48) These were definitely larger marches than the March for the Great American Boycott, or the March for A Day Without an Immigrant, but it does still stand that in Los Angeles the Day Without an Immigrant March of 2006 remains the biggest in L.A. history
(4:20) With that said, here’s yours truly along with P, the Horrible Vandal, on graffiti in L.A.
(5:07) Introductions, and a shout out to the Robinson Space for Los Cuentos de Los Ángeles
(5:32) Welcome P, the Horrible Vandal
(7:06) Shout out Koreatown since if you know, you know
(7:47) The state of graffiti today with respect to the gentrification in L.A.
(9:33) Business Insider on Oceanside Plaza, now better known as the site of the Graffiti Towers
(11:20) Is LAPD still arresting people for graffiti given all of the homelessness on the streets?
(14:28) The Broken Window Theory
(20:20) Like other subcultures, graffiti has also grown into a major industry
(25:33) To be sure though, how do we engage the youth on graffiti?
(28:41) Regulating Social Media corporations vs regulating graffiti
(32:26) Looking into muralism and other “responsible” art-making for P
(36:04) If so many outsiders can make a living off L.A., why can’t artists from here make a living too?(38:34) At the end of the day, graffiti is for everyone
(41:19) Shout out to the Horrible Vandal for the time, and all the writers. 100 percent

To make a one-time donation to my nonprofit work for working-class communities in Los Angeles, please do so here. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast for as little as $5 a month, check out my page at patreon.com/jimbotimes.

J.T.

A DAY WITHOUT AN IMMIGRANT IN LOS ANGELES (’06 EDITION)

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In this update for J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast we reflect on our two year Anniversary Party for the Making a Neighborhood newsletter at local Bellevue Park, which included a dazzling Healing Circle by Koreatown and Pico-Union’s very own Monica Garcia, MFT. To subscribe to Making a Neighborhood for free, please do so here.

Also, did you know that Making Our Neighborhood: Redlining, Gentrification and Housing (2021), the magazine, is once again available for purchase? Grab your copy today, which supports only more storytelling and documenting for our communities, here.

Last but certainly not least, in a debut “segment” tidbit for the podcast, I take a look back at the largest marches in L.A. history, which took place during March and May 2006 in fierce opposition to House Resolution 4437. It was quite the time to be a teenager, and now looking back at the political landscape of the time invokes memories of a distant yet still too-familiar past still reverberating today. Audio for this segment is also provided by the Korean Resource Center (KRC); to see and hear the entire compilation of news coverage of May Day 2006, do so via KRC’s YouTube channel.

(0:31) Hey, what’s going on Los Angeles? It’s J.T. and I hope that you are very well; today is March 29th, 2024 and almost time to pay that rent again
(1:34) First up, some housekeeping, including for Making a Neighborhood’s 2 Year Anniversary Party!
(2:29) Shout out to all who attended, especially Monica Garcia, MFT, who led us in a special Healing Circle
(3:30) Also, did you know that Redlining, Gentrification and Housing is available for purchase again?
(4:51) A brief set of takeaways from March’s Primary Elections; we spoke with some winners!
(7:33) Speaking of March, let’s take a glance back at March 2006 in L.A., actually
(11:31) Even if you weren’t there, you have to know that this took place
(13:40) These were some of the largest marches in U.S. history, probably in the top 5
(15:53) Let’s tune into some media reports of the marches at the time to place them into even more perspective…
(17:11) These kinds of marches are for everyone, including for today’s generation of organizers!
(18:21) Now, are you ready to go back in time??
(18:36) “Illegal immigrants and their supporters, the big question,” MSNBC
(19:32) “70% of the people watching say that illegal immigrants should be arrested at these rallies”
(22:29) Downtown Los Angeles, across the street from City Hall
(23:11) L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa did not plan to attend any of the demonstrations
(24:07) Business owners closed their doors in solidarity and also out of caution
(25:23) Many of L.A.’s construction workers are undocumented as well
(27:22) A Day Without an Immigrant
(27:53) “It wasn’t supposed to be this way after amnesty in 1986”
(29:08) The L.A. and Long Beach ports’ dependence on immigrants; “if all undocumented workers disappeared, the economy would grind to a halt”
(32:37) May Day protests, including students and more
(35:03) Farmworkers in solidarity with workers in the cities
(39:01) Christine Chavez, the granddaughter of labor leader Cesar Chavez, regarding the actions for immigrants of 2006
(43:47) L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on the demonstrations
(45:10) Despite concerns, the marches were pretty much entirely peaceful
(49:07) On the question of amnesty and/or other immigration reform
(51:50) In any case, republicans across the nation should recognize the contributions of immigrants to cities like Los Angeles and take note
(53:04) Countless protesters across the streets of L.A., and also home from school and work in solidarity

To make a one-time donation to my nonprofit work for working-class communities in Los Angeles, please do so here. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast for as little as $5 a month, check out my page at patreon.com/jimbotimes.

J.T.