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, calls the immigration system “broken”
(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.

Btw L.A., did you know…?

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In 2020 the U.S. Census counted some 1.7 million Central-Americans in L.A. County. But from the Oaxacan Isthmus (!) to the Panama Canal—including the Caribbean islands—there are now over 100 million people who “hold the center” of the Americas, or who can identify as Central American or Caribbean.

And did you know that in 1823, after a decade of war for independence from Spain there was even a Central American Federation between Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama?! Even the U.S. recognized “CAF” in 1824!

4 Escudos from the CAF. 1835. Image courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History

Speaking of then, the largest influx of immigrants to the U.S. actually took place during the 1890s, when more than 10 million people fled wars and instability in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe to start over on Turtle Island; that year “foreign-born” people made about 15% of the national census, as opposed to 2020, when they made up 14%.

Discharge from Ellis Island. 1902. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Public Domain.

But what do I know? I’m just headed back to my father’s homeland to break bolillos with some Salvi pueblos and hear their thoughts on it all for Los Cuentos de Los Angeles. Please learn more at my fundraiser for the trip!

J.T.

EPISODE 98 – TELL THEM EVERYTHING NOW, WITH NAHSHON DION

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For our 98th installment (originally recorded May 29th, 2022), Nahshon and I discuss yours truly’s roots in Los Angeles, the L.A. mayor’s race, the L.A. County Sheriff’s office, and even Acapulco restaurant. Nahshon Dion is a multi-talented, award-winning creative nonfiction writer, teaching artist, creative director, executive producer, and arts patron from Pasadena, California. She hosts TRANSBRATIONS, a YouTube show, whose next guest, on June 21st, features Writer and Professor Elmaz Abinader, co-founder of Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation (VONA).

*It was Toni Morrison–not Angela Davis–in a conversation with Angela Davis, who noted the abundance of libraries in the United States per capita compared to the rest of ‘the West’s’ states and nations.*

*Set the Night on Fire: L.A. in the Sixties was authored by Mike Davis and Jon Weiner–not Weinstein–in 2020.

J.T.

EPISODE 87 – FROM REDLINING TO REPARATIONS WITH DAVID KIM

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We publish the podcast’s first ever English & Spanish-translated episode, recorded live with David Kim (@DavidKimForCA) for his campaign’s monthly Livestream. Share it with the vecindario‘s mamas, tios and tias, primos, and more! And for the full version, check out David’s YouTube channel. Thanks also to Patricia Canton for translating on the subjects of gentrification, redlining, the Jim Crow South, and the Reconstruction era, among others.

J.T.