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LA: No Place for Hate - Poster of the Week



We All Belong Here

Micah Bazant

Jewish Voice for Peace

Digital Print, 2017

Los Angeles, CA

#30396



Your Racism Affects Us

Another Planet Posters

Silkscreen, 1988

Melbourne, Australia

#23095


Los Angeles continues to reel with anger following last week's leak of a secret tape of an hour-long City Council meeting from October 2021. On the tape, then-City Council President Nury Martinez was speaking with fellow councilmembers Kevin De León, Gil Cedillo, and then-Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera about redistricting plans. They managed to make disparaging remarks about the LGBTQ, Black, Indigenous Oaxacan, Jewish, and Armenian communities in Los Angeles.

These comments are repulsive in and of themselves, but they are made even more reprehensible by the fact that the entire discussion was about redistricting to secure power and allies on the City Council. Los Angeles has a long history of racially-based redlining, a legacy of which has left the city still heavily segregated. Countless political and community leaders have called for their resignations, even President Biden. Herrera and Martinez have resigned from their positions, the other two have yet to do so.


Protester holding poster by Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo (CIELO) at City Hall demonstration Oct. 15, 2022, Los Angeles, CA.

Photo courtesy of Devra Weber


While the four L.A City leaders were all Latinx and expressed a desire to solidify Latinx control of the council, this is not an opportunity or excuse to permit anti-Latinx opinions or perceptions of a Black vs. Brown racial divide. These politicians and their prejudices do not represent their communities (as shown by overwhelming calls for them to step down). The comments made by these councilmembers are rooted in white supremacy culture and an internalized desire to buy into a power structure that pits communities against each other.


White supremacy is more than white nationalism, it is a global legacy of colonialism that can be performed and perpetuated by anyone of any race, class, or gender and as shown by this Australian-made poster, it affects

us all.


Micah Bazant's poster reminds us that a sense of belonging is crucial for all folks, especially in a place as diverse as Los Angeles. This moment is an opportunity for renewed cross-cultural solidarity; as demonstrated by the protests that have taken place outside City Hall — the people are fighting back.


The United States is only 2 weeks away from midterm elections. This disgusting reveal of political greed, racism, and prejudice reminds us all to VOTE.


Live town hall with LA Times columnists Erika D. Smith, LZ Granderson and others discussing the current L.A City Hall scandal tonight, Thursday, Oct. 20th at 6 p.m. Information on how to view the event here.


References:

Council President Martinez on DA Gascón: 'Fuck That Guy...He's with the Blacks.' | Knock LA


California Lawmakers Call for Resignations After LA City Council Racist Comments | The Sacramento Bee


Racist Comments in Leaked Recording of LA City Councilmembers Leads to Outrage and Upheaval | Santa Monica Mirror


Embattled L.A. City Council Member Takes Leave of Absence After Leaked Audio of Racist Language | Axios


Nury Martinez Reigns from L.A. City Council in Wake of Audio Leak Scandal | Los Angeles Times


Column: L.A. Needs a New Generation of Latino Leaders | Los Angeles Times


Echoes of Latin American Racism Reverberate in the U.S. | New York Times


Mexico's New Racial Reckoning: A Movement Protests Colorism and White Privilege | Los Angeles Times


Internalized Oppression and Latinos | Race, Racism and the Law


What is White Supremacy Culture? | White Supremacy Culture.info


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