Immigrant Marches
La Gran Marcha held on March 25 to 27th
Day Without an Immigrant on May 1, 2006
More than 1 million mostly Latino immigrants and their supporters took to the streets in March and again in May to protest the proposed Congressional legislation HR 4437 or to flex the economic muscle of immigrant workers. This series of demonstrations filled the streets in cities around the U.S. and leading the march in numbers was Downtown Los Angeles.
As impactful as it was in spring, by fall almost no one was at National Latino Congreso rally at the Los Angeles State Historic Park. The pupusa burst in the cornfields. By the end of the year, not even local micro-newspaper L.A. Downtown News had the marches in it's year end list of important stories.
Was it that long ago?
Here's some other Downtown stories that had legs, as seen from a View From a Loft.
Ed Rusha Monument: It's still a cover up. No one has 'fessed up for Kent Twitchell's mural being painted over.
Skid Row: Homeless being washed out of the streets, kinda. An infection that spreads with no warning. Poverty pimps wanting their piece of the action. Heated debates at town meetings. LAPD putting extra cops on the streets. Powerful spin makers demanding Skid Row be taken off Fire Trucks, yet allow the name of the neighborhood walk to stay Skid Row Walk. The stories are a libretto for a modern urban opera, and like the client base the used to linger in numbers on Main Street below 5th, waiting for a score. 2006 may have been the first act with the introduction of the players.
The Big Day on October 6 with the L.A. Weekly Detour Festival and the Grand Avenue Festival Downtown, USC and UCLA football are playing at home. The Kings open hockey season at Staples Center. There's a competitive run up the Library Tower. Eagle Rock and Wilshire's Miracle Mile both have festivals. Oh yea, the Dodgers host the Mets for a playoff game. Let's do it again! Los Angeles Times (Yet, a view from a loft reader did different. They visited Vernon.)
LATimes LAO must have a desk inside the Times. How else can he get the scoop on the spin? The story is on-going.
Political Street Signs They were only up for a few hours, but people kept talking about them for weeks.
Downtown Development It will be seen what works, what fails and what should have been left a hole in the ground.
Arts District BID Next year a lot of people will be watching. Waiting. Paying.
MURAL Preserved. David Alfaro Siqueiros saved by the Getty and City of LA
225th Birthday of LA The real news was how this wasn't a celebration worthy of a city like L.A.
Thanks for reading.
Photo: LA Liberty on Broadway / View From a Loft / Found by BoingBoing
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