LA Beaches and Racism from the Early 20th Century to Today
Interesting articles on the history of racism and the LA Beach scene. It’s not all about surfer dudes, the Beach Boys and the bikinis.
In the first article, an African American family established a beach resort in Manhattan Beach, only to have their property taken by eminent domain through the city; they were paid only a pittance of its value, and essentially they were run out of town.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/18/us/bruces-beach-manhattan-california.html
And in the second, a thriving African American beach community in Santa Monica is blocked by the local white “Santa Monica Bay Protective League” from any further development of a resort to be owned by and operated for African Americans. https://laist.com/2020/12/23/black_santa_monica_history_vintage_los_angeles.php and https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/inkwell-santa-monica-california-1905-1964/
In Venice starting in the 1980’s, the historically African American Oakwood neighborhood has been gentrified and developed for Hollywood types and Silicon Beach denizens, and its working class black neighbors were steadily displaced. https://knock-la.com/venice-oakwood-black-neighborhood-history-a270785f0a04/
Today we have a dearth of affordable housing and an abundance of homelessness throughout LA. Efforts to develop more low cost housing for the homeless encounter well organized homeowner groups dedicated to NIMBY in their own communities. https://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-abcarian-homeless-venice-20190604-story.html LA City and County have been trying to build more affordable housing and running squarely into NIMBY; one solution would be building and locating more small scale public housing in local neighborhoods across the city. https://knock-la.com/nimby-vs-yimby-vs-phimby-astroturf-organizing-ff9ccbf2816d/
Given the exorbitant costs of land and development costs in LA, one recent solution to homelessness has been a village of tiny prefab homes (64 sq. feet) at a cost of $7500 per unit. https://ktla.com/news/local-news/l-a-opens-its-first-tiny-home-village-to-house-homeless-individuals/ There are congregate meals, communal hygiene and associated social services on site. While that’s much better than a tent on a sidewalk or the concrete of an unoccupied door stoop, it’s an awfully small living space.