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Watts residents demand answers as $850,000 pollution settlement sits idle – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

WATTS — In 2023, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office secured a $2 million settlement from Atlas Iron & Metal, a metal recycling yard cited for hazardous waste violations. 


The funds were divided three ways: $1 million for the Los Angeles Unified School District as restitution, roughly $200,000 in fines and penalties, and $850,000 earmarked for agencies and community groups to mitigate pollution or improve the quality of life in Watts. 


That final portion, according to the dis...

Leimert Park draws record Black Lives Matter crowd, spotlights Wakiesha’s Law – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

LEIMERT PARK — Twelve years after Black Lives Matter was born, Los Angeles remains at the center of its most enduring demand: that Black families deserve justice — and that Black mothers will not be silenced.


From July 11-13, Black Lives Matter-L.A. hosted a weekend meeting at the Center for Black Power, with workshops, reflections and strategy sessions. For those gathered, the anniversary wasn’t just a memorial. It was a political checkpoint — and a reminder that there is still work that nee...
L.A. Focus Newspaper •

“No Justice, No Silence: BLM Marks 12 Years of Organizing Beyond the Headlines” - L.A. Focus Newspaper

Twelve years ago, a hashtag became a movement. On July 11, 2025, that movement gathered in South Los Angeles at the Center for Black Power, a community space purchased with chapter-based donations, now home to Black Lives Matter–Los Angeles. In a packed room on 43rd Place, mothers, organizers, and survivors came together not only to commemorate, but to testify.

      “Even when the cameras turn away,” said Dr. Melina Abdullah, co-founder of BLM-LA, “the work continues.”

      The room was sacr...

South L.A. residents frustrated as new ‘parks’ mean more concrete, little shade – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

SOUTH LOS ANGELES — In 2016, Los Angeles County voters passed Measure A with the hope of transforming the region’s neglected parks. 


Framed as a once-in-a-generation fix to decades of underinvestment, the parcel tax was designed to fund parks, open space and recreation facilities with a strong emphasis on equity — channeling resources to areas long deemed “park poor.”


Almost nine years later, in parts of South Los Angeles, residents say the results don’t match the rhetoric.


“We get more...
Invisible People •

One Nation Repeals A Cruel Vagrancy Law. Another Doubles Down

After more than two centuries, the United Kingdom has officially scrapped the 1824 Vagrancy Act—a law that criminalized rough sleeping and begging. Framed as a long-overdue correction to historic injustice, the repeal signals a shift toward a “support-first” approach to homelessness in England and Wales.“We are drawing a line under nearly two centuries of injustice towards some of the most vulnerable in society, who deserve dignity and support,” said Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner. “No one...

New Black cultural district could make South L.A. a model for the nation – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

SOUTH LOS ANGELES — California is moving forward with plans to create a black cultural district in South Los Angeles, backed by $3 million in state funding secured by state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, D-Los Angeles.


The proposed district would honor neighborhoods such as the Crenshaw Corridor, Leimert Park and historic Central Avenue — long considered pillars of Black arts, culture and civic life in Los Angeles. Supporters say the designation will help preserve the legacy of one of the state’...

As ICE raids escalate, Black Angelenos debate solidarity with Latino immigrants – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

LOS ANGELES — As many as 30,000 protesters — predominantly Latino — descended on downtown June 14 for the No King’s Day protest, waving Mexican flags and chanting, “ICE out of L.A.” 


Helicopters hovered overhead. Vendors sold hot dogs. Nipsey Hussle and YG’s protest anthem “FDT” blared as the crowd sang along. Law enforcement dressed in riot gear stood watch.


Cresencio Hernandez, a Compton resident, said the protest — aimed at President Donald Trump’s planned military parade in Washington,...
Invisible People •

Recovery First: The Political Movement Undermining Evidence-Based Solutions To Homelessness

Mark Horvath doesn’t mince words.“Recovery First isn’t just counterproductive—it’s dangerous,” he said. As founder of Invisible People, Horvath has spent years documenting how policy shapes the lives of people living on the street. What worries him most now is a growing political movement that sounds compassionate but, in practice, puts lives at risk.Known as Recovery First, this approach withholds housing until people meet sobriety or treatment benchmarks—even though research shows that Harm Re...

South LA civil rights attorney Carl Douglas reflects on justice at 70 – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

LOS ANGELES — Carl Douglas doesn’t take many days off, but on a recent birthday, he made an exception. As he looked back on more than four decades of practicing law in Los Angeles, one thread ran through it all: justice — who gets it, who doesn’t, and how the courts shape lives in ways the public rarely sees.


Douglas was raised on 109th Street and Denker Avenue in South Los Angeles during the 1960s and ’70s, a time of deep tension between police and Black communities — an environment he says...
Invisible People •

Promised Housing, Delivered Neglect: A Westlake Death Raises Hard Questions

The dogs were still inside the tent when Lucrecia Macias Barajas’s daughter pulled back the flap and saw her mother’s body—badly disfigured, with visible injuries to her face. It was just past 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 13. Her phone had been pinging from the same Westlake encampment for over 24 hours.“They ate my mom,” the daughter said later, describing how the dogs circled the body while police waited for Animal Services. It wasn’t until 1:30 a.m.—nearly seven hours later—that Lucrecia’s body w...
Invisible People •

From The Streets To The Cell: How The War On Drugs Targets Homeless People

Patrick Hogan has been homeless since 2017, long enough to see the rules change—and not for the better. From the banks of the Santa Ana Riverbed to the sidewalks of Anaheim, he’s watched police push people from one corner to another, citing ordinances that seem designed less to help than to disappear unhoused people. “It’s like they want us dead so they don’t have to house us,” he said.Now, as the federal government moves to permanently reclassify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs—...

Black restaurant owners clash with street vendors – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — On her daily drive home from work, Buffy Hopkins passes a taco stand that pops up near Dodger Stadium. The line is always long. The prices are always low. And the business, she says, always seems to out-earn hers.
“They don’t have our overhead, our labor costs, our health inspections,” said Hopkins, who has run a small restaurant near downtown for four years. “They set up outside and sell burritos for a few dollars. We’re charging $12 just to...

From South LA streets to youth mentor: How a Crips co-founder survived prison, cancer and injustice – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
He lay shackled to a prison bed, arms and legs stretched wide in a crucifix-like position, cuffed for hours. Worms crawled from his body. Feces piled beneath him. A hole in his throat where his voice used to be. Guards walked past. No one stopped.
“Why didn’t you say something?” they later asked. But he couldn’t. They had already taken his voice.
Raised in the Imperial Courts housing projects in Watts, George Ray Thomas — known across South Los Angeles as T...

Faith leaders meet to plan strategies for change  – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
SOUTH LOS ANGELES — Rain drummed against the roof of a church April 26 where a small crowd — some in suits, others in sweaters and jeans — scattered across rows of empty chairs. The low turnout mirrored the storm outside, but inside, the urgency was undeniable.
The event, hosted by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California, brought together faith leaders and community members to confront a wave of overlapping crises — from deportat...

Homeless still suffer despite billions spent in California – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — Beneath a skyline etched with wealth and power, the shadows of Los Angeles’s tallest skyscrapers stretch toward Skid Row, where the American promise fades into tents and desperation. 
On a recent afternoon, a man stood and raised a crumpled California flag over his head, shouting into the air. His voice cracked and rambling, his presence underscored the enduring crisis that billions of dollars have yet to resolve. This is the man the system wa...

YMCA unveils plan to rewrite foster youth outcomes – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
SOUTH LOS ANGELES — In a county with more foster youth than 40 U.S. states combined, Los Angeles officials launched a $1 million-a-year initiative April 17 to offer more than just services — they aim to create a sense of permanence.
The You Belong: Foster Youth Initiative is a countywide partnership between the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, the county Department of Children and Family Services and elected officials. It offers free YMCA memberships to fo...

Waters issues call to organize against Trump  – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters speaks April 19 at a town hall meeting at the Watts Labor Community Action Committee headquarters, urging her constituents to fight against Trump administration policies. ‘We’ve never seen anything like this before,’ she said.Photo by Stephen Oduntan
By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
WATTS — On a breezy morning, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters stood outside the Watts Labor Community Action Committee headquarters on Central Avenue and told her constituents they needed to orga...

Last voice of the Watts Prophets can’t be silenced – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
SOUTH LOS ANGELES — Just off Stocker Street, where manicured lawns brush against a boundless blue sky, a quiet two-story stucco building settles into the block. 
It’s easy to miss. But inside a modest ground-floor apartment, the last living member of the Watts Prophets keeps watch over half a century of Black cultural memory.The space hums with history: a bed draped in red, black, green, and gold yarn; a framed Ernest Watson print of Haitian revolutionaries...

100 days in, slow recovery still haunts fire victims – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
ALTADENA — It has been 100 days since a fast-moving wildfire tore through the foothills of Altadena, displacing dozens of families. Many residents remain without permanent housing and are still waiting for government aid. 
For some families affected by the fire, recovery has been slow and uneven, with much of the support coming from neighbors, not the government, residents said.“We’ve been displaced since Jan. 8,” said Trenton Jordan, a personal trainer and...

New laws sought in custody deaths – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — In March 2016, Lisa Hines spent four agonizing days searching for her 36-year-old daughter — calling jails, visiting police stations and demanding answers. It wasn’t until a commander handed her a phone number that she finally got the truth. The voice on the other end said: “Coroner’s Office.”
“I dropped the phone. I fell out.”That’s how Hines remembers the moment she learned her daughter, Wakiesha Wilson, had died in LAPD custody.
“My baby ha...

Former gang members working to keep the peace – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

The National Action Network staged a peace march in Watts in 2014. The Watts Gang Task Force has helped keep the peace in the community since 2005.File photo
By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
WATTS — The December 2005 shooting of a prominent gang leader sparked 18 days of retaliatory violence between Watts gangs, leaving multiple residents dead and the community demanding action.
“We couldn’t understand it—why nobody was responding,” said Donnie Joubert, a longtime resident and co-founder o...

Activists frustrated over delays on reparations – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

Chris Lodgson, lead organizer with the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California, speaks at a reparations town hall March 15. The town hall focused on demands for direct payments and frustration over legislative delays in California’s reparations efforts.Photo by Stephen Oduntan
By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
CRENSHAW — The demand for reparations for Black Californians reached a boiling point at a March 15 town hall, where community members voiced frustration over what they see as de...

Local woman recalls horror, resolve of Bloody Sunday – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — Rain pattered against the windows, blending with the low hum of the day. Over the phone, Leatha Clay Davis spoke with the unmistakable rasp of age, her voice softened but firm. 
At 80, her words carried the weight of decades, shaped by a life of resistance. When she laughed — a deep, knowing chuckle — her white teeth gleamed against her dark skin, unchanged by time. Even over the phone, her voice carried the same steady warmth.“They say we’ve...

Groups seek memorial for victims of the Grim Sleeper – Los Angeles Wave Newspaper Group

By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
SOUTH LOS ANGELES — When Los Angeles police encountered reports of missing Black women here, they often labeled them “NHI” — short for “no humans involved.” It signaled exactly how much attention those cases deserved in their eyes: none.
The women’s families knew better. The community knew better. The Black Coalition Fighting Back Serial Murders knew that dozens of Black women were disappearing. Yet, for decades, the city ignored their cries for justice.
Fo...
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