mexican-american – Page 2 – J.T. the L.A. Storyteller

Zoot Suit Heritage Week in L.A.

June 22, 2024June 23, 2024 J.T.Leave a comment

This was a special and yet very difficult day at the center of Los Angeles for yours truly. Having committed to this production with the Sueño Team in advance, little did I know that I would have to show up to the event less than a week after the devastating loss of two brothers in my community, which by extension was a loss for the heart of Los Angeles.

But I showed up for the inaugural Zoot Suit Heritage Week nonetheless because I knew that’s what our brothers would have wanted. Sure enough, I found myself uplifted by the beauty of our people, our culture and our enduring strength even while facing great challenges. Please check out the full video for this day from Whittier Blvd to Broadway via the link in my bio, and be sure to subscribe to J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast and to follow the Sueño Team for more from our collaborative Palabra series soon.

J.T.

L.A. MARCH 2024 PRIMARIES: RECAP

May 24, 2024May 30, 2024 J.T.Leave a comment

It’s official! There are now just 136 days before it’s “high-key” time for elections again. This is because in California ballots for the election are sent to voters some 29 days before Election Day. So then, even if Election Day is on November 5th, many of us will have the opportunity to vote on L.A. City, LAUSD, L.A. County, and even California elections as soon as October 7th, or 136 days out. In this installment we go over certified L.A. City elections to see who won, who lost out, and what you can expect this Fall if you live and vote in Los Angeles. You can also see the graphics used in this recap here. And you can watch this podcast on YouTube. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast on YouTube so you don’t miss our recap for LAUSD and L.A. County elections.

(1:48) Council District 2: Adrian Nazarian vs Jillian Burgos
(6:06) Council District 4: Nithya Raman
(11:36) Council District 6: Imelda Padilla
(14:56) Council District 8: Marqueece Harris-Dawson
(19:54) Council District 10: Heather Hutt vs Grace Yoo (K-Town Is Oaxacan Korean)
(24:16) Council District 12: John Lee
(29:25) Council District 14: Ysabel Jurado vs Kevin De Leon
(38:20) Patreon Shout Out!

And remember, if you’re able to, you can make a one-time donation to my nonprofit work for working-class communities in The City here.

You can also check out my Patreon page at https://patreon.com/jimbotimes; each subscription plays a real part in supporting my independent research and journalism for the nearly 10 million people who make up L.A. County. Because yes, I am in fact doing it for every last one of you!

With that said, let the city know. This is 2024’s official Primary Election RECAP by JIMBO TIMES, the L.A. Storyteller.

J.T.

THE DODGERS: COLLEAGUES, OR COLONIZERS?

May 10, 2024May 13, 2024 J.T.Leave a comment

Today the Los Angeles Dodgers are worth $5.4 billion. But for the land they took to play ball, Vincent “Chente” Montalvo’s family received what his grandfather John De Nava called peanuts. His grandmother, Adela De Nava–now 91 years old(!)–also continues to stand by this claim. It’s not just about the money, though. Earlier this year, California Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo introduced AB 1950, or the Chavez Ravine Accountability Act, which would order the city of Los Angeles to atone for its part in evicting nearly 1,400 Mexican-American families in the Bishop, La Loma, and Palo Verde communities to place Dodger stadium on top. Vincent and yours truly discuss AB 1950, as well as the meaning of “reparations” in the current political environment. To follow Vincent and his work at Buried Under the Blue, do so here. You can also watch this episode on YouTube.

(1:01) Welcome Vincent “Chente Montalvo” to J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast, also known as Los Cuentos De Los Ángeles
(3:43) Vincent is a founding member of Buried Under the Blue, which seeks to hold the city of Los Angeles and the Dodgers responsible for evicting his grandparents and thousands more in “Chavez Ravine”
(6:35) Vincent acknowledges the Kizh nation as the aboriginal people in Los Angeles and discerns between claims of land back for his family and land back for First Peoples
(11:38) Approximately how many people were in Bishop, La Loma, and Palo Verde, called “Chavez Ravine”?
(22:29) Vincent himself grew up in Echo Park, and also went to nearby Belmont High School, for the record
(30:34) The communities of Bishop, La Loma and Palo Verde were self-reliant and even organized their own Little League
(35:25) Private property was the fulfillment of the American Dream for Vincent’s family, until a constitutional amendment robbed them of it for the sake of the Dodgers
(40:24) Assembly Bill 1950 by Wendy Carrillo, also known as the Chavez Ravine Accountability Act, was introduced in the California legislature’s Judiciary Committee just this past March 2024
(42:13) Why Buried Under the Blue is not on board with AB 1950 in its current form
(47:51) Vincent and his family are not simply seeking financial compensation but an official apology from the Dodgers
(50:54) Due to his work Vincent has heard increasingly from Dodger fans who connect with his story
(55:55) AB 1950 in its current form does not identify the Dodgers for their instrumental role in the eviction of Vincent’s grandparents and their more than 1,000 neighbors
(59:26) How to support Vincent and his work with Buried Under the Blue

Speaking of standing atop a piece of history, please also check out Areli Morales Lopez’s latest for Making a Neighborhood, “The Last Laundromat by Venice Beach,” here. And 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.

P.S. I will for sure have a March Primary Elections recap before our next podcast episode on May 24th. You can quote me on that!

Btw L.A., did you know…?

December 13, 2023December 13, 2023 J.T.1 Comment

Did you know that on L.A. Metro’s A Line, formerly known to a generation as “The Gold Line,” the dilapidated, creaky building you can see from the Chinatown to Lincoln Heights/Cypress station, is actually the former Lincoln Heights jail?

In 2016, the L.A. Times noted that: “In the early years of the jail, which opened in 1931, some people were hauled to the building along the concrete-lined L.A. River because they were gay, leading to the creation of a separate wing, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy. Many of those arrested during the 1943 Zoot Suit riots, in which [white] servicemen targeted young Mexican Americans, were taken to the Lincoln Heights Jail on North Avenue 19.”

Young, mostly Mexican American men jailed in Lincoln Heights in the late 1930s. Photo courtesy of the L.A. Public Library.

The jail was also used for the federal government’s efforts against labor-organizing across the nation during the 1930s. One prisoner, E. Yagamuchi, was taken by authorities from the Imperial Valley and jailed for two years there, presumably for involvement with local labor organizing. Yagamuchi faced deportation to Japan before the International Labor Defense (ILD) organization rallied to his defense. In August 1932, the ILD’s efforts won him and another Japanese-American, Tetsui Horiyuchi, a “voluntary departure” to the U.S.S.R. instead.

E. Yamaguchi leaving Lincoln Heights jail after almost two years in 1932. Photo courtesy of the L.A. Public Library.

The Lincoln Heights jail was officially closed in 1965, including because of overcrowding conditions that became well too apparent when residents taken from the Watts neighborhood were booked there during the Watts Rebellion in August 1965.

Lincoln Heights jail photograped in 1936. Photo courtesy of the L.A. Public Library.

Now, 58 years after the fact, the youngest member of L.A. City Council, who also just completed her first year in office, is looking to transform the former jail into social housing for the Lincoln Heights community. Think it can’t be done? Hear about it and more through our latest podcast with Council Member for L.A.’s 1st District, Eunisses Hernandez.