KCET / Los Angeles Times
Journalist and columnist at KCET and contributing editor at the Los Angeles Times; author of Black Talk, Blue Thoughts and Walking the Color Line: Dispatches from a Black Journalista and the forthcoming I Heart Obama, an exploration of Obama's cultural and historical meaning to black Americans; board member of the UCLA Black Alumni Association
What Kind of Change Will the NFL Stadium Bring to Inglewood? Over 250 people are working on the design of the new NFL stadium and its surroundings. DnA talked with just a few of the people shaping the ambitious project: developers Chris Meany and Gerard McCallum, architects Mark Williams and Lance Evans, and landscape architect Kush Parekh. The stadium, with its performing arts center, shops and public spaces, is intended to provide far more for Inglewood than simply football. The new NFL Stadium for Inglewood viewed from across a lake that will be part of the landscape design. Image courtesy HKS Architects. But some in Inglewood question the impact it will have on the city’s mostly black and Latino residents. DnA talks traffic, the approval process, gentrification -- and Trader Joe’s -- with Kali Nikitas, the city’s Arts Commissioner-at-large, Erin Aubry Kaplan, an Inglewood-based journalist, and James Butts, the city’s hard-charging mayor.
Which Way, LA? The Question that Won't Go Away 23 years ago, the fires of the Rodney King riots were burning and the sirens wailing when KCRW first asked, WWLA? We've been through fires, floods, earthquakes and massive social, cultural and economic change. While this is the last program titled WWLA? the question still needs to be asked. We talk with a group of important and thoughtful people about what LA has become and about the challenges to be faced in the future…as we continue.
Racial Diversity at UCLA…before and after Prop 209 "What unique perspective does a minority student bring to a physics class?" That question was asked today by John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the United States. The court was re-considering the case of Abigail Fisher , a white woman who sued the University of Texas, Austin, for admitting black students while rejecting her. She said affirmative action was a form of racial discrimination. David Savage covers the court for the LA Times . In California, considering race for public college admissions was banned when voters passed Proposition 209 in 1996. The percentage of African American students dropped by half the following year -- from 6% to 3%. Ten years later, it was 2%. We hear from African American students at UCLA, before and after Prop 209 went into effect.
What Watts Means 50 Years Later Fifty years ago today, police clashed with a black motorist in Los Angeles, beginning what came to be known as the Watts Riots or the "rebellion." The violence began after two policemen scuffled with a black motorist in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. Thirty-four people died and $40 million in property was destroyed. Erin Aubry Kaplan grew up a few minutes away -- in what seemed like a "better neighborhood." But, in the latest edition of Los Angeles Magazine , she writes that Watts came to be a symbol of protest… and even pride. Alma Reaves Woods Watts Branch Library Photo: Laurie Avocado
Charleston Killings Hit a Nerve in Los Angeles The violent racism that appears to have spurred a gunman to attack Emmanuel First AME Church has Americans trying to come to terms with what it means for race relations in 2015. We hear from Angelinos in this special live edition of Which Way, LA?
The Passing of LA's Unofficial Poet Laureate, Wanda Coleman Wanda Coleman grew up in Watts in the 1950's. She described her own childhood as unhappy, and was outraged by racism and hatred. She went on to write 20 books, including novels and collections of other works. She won poetry prizes and was a finalist for the National Book Award. She died last Friday after a long illness at the age of 67. LA Times book critic David Ulin describes her as "a force of nature" and "the conscience of the LA literary scene." We hear an appreciation from Erin Aubry Kaplan, author of Black Talk, Blue Thoughts and Walking the Color Line : Dispatches from Black Journalist, and David Kipen, the founder of Libros Schmibros, the lending library and bookshop in Boyle Heights.
Trees Ripped Out in Inglewood to Clear Way for Endeavour Next month the Space Shuttle Endeavour's will go to its final resting place: the California Science Center in downtown LA. But getting it there won't be easy. From LAX, it'll be trucked down the streets of LA and Inglewood, requiring removal of hundreds of trees. Not everybody is happy about that. (In addition to our guests, we also heard the voice of Lark Galloway Gilliam of the Community Health Councils in South Los Angeles.)
LA Before It Erupted The Rodney King beating was videotaped by a bystander and broadcast on newscasts worldwide. Two weeks later, a 15-year-old black girl, Latasha Harlins, was shot to death by a Korean-American liquor-store owner, Soon Ja Doo. That incident was also videotaped by a surveillance camera and was repeatedly broadcast. Soon Ja Doo was convicted of second degree murder and granted probation. After the Rodney King beating, Mayor Tom Bradley appointed a commission headed by former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, which recommended reforms of the LAPD. Then came the verdicts and the rioting. It became clear that the LAPD was completely unprepared for the violence and had no plan. Governor Pete Wilson called in the National Guard, which patrolled the streets for 17 days. After the riot, it was Rodney King who asked the most important question, "can't we all just get along?" Since then, two of the LAPD officers — Lawrence Powell and Stacey Koon — were convicted of federal civil rights crimes. King received $3.8 million in a settlement with the City of LA. We've heard about the mood of tension that gripped Los Angeles in the late 80's and early 90's, for a multitude of reasons. Today, we speak with four "survivors" of the riots. (We also hear the voices of poet Wanda Coleman , Congresswoman Karen Bass , LAPD Chief Charlie Beck , former Mayor Richard Riordan , Rodney King and others.) (L-R) Warren Olney, Raphael Sonenshein, Erin Aubry Kaplan, Bonghwan Kim and Rubén Martínez
Remembering Soul Train's Don Cornelius Soul Train was one of the longest-running shows in television history, a Saturday afternoon event that helped spread black music and culture to the rest of the world. It was started in 1970 by a Chicago disc jockey named Don Cornelius , who died early this morning at his home in Sherman Oaks of a self-inflicted gunshot. When Cornelius syndicated the program he brought it to LA, where it originated for 35 years. One avid viewer was Erin Aubry Kaplan, now a columnist and the author of Black Talk, Blue Thoughts, and Waling the Color Line : Dispatches from a Black Journalista.
Barack Obama and Black America Since the election of Barack Obama, the economic plight of blacks has declined more than that of whites and other Americans. Has he ignored the crisis? When the President addressed the Congressional Black Caucus a week and a half ago, he said black unemployment is almost 17 percent, the highest in almost three decades. He called it "heartbreaking" and "frustrating" that 40 percent of African-American children live in poverty with fewer than half believing they can achieve the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But he also chided the CBC for "complaining" and "crying." We hear the reaction of African-American leaders and the possible consequences for Obama's re-election.
Barack Obama and Black America Since the election of President Obama, black unemployment has risen to twice that of whites, and white families have 44 times more wealth than black families. The President's support has declined among black voters, and black leaders have been divided over how much to criticize America's first black president. When he addressed the Congressional Black Caucus a week and a half ago, he noted that black unemployment is at almost 17 percent, the highest in almost three decades, and called it "heartbreaking" and "frustrating" that 40 percent of African-American children live in poverty, with fewer than half believing they can achieve the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But he also chided the CBC for "complaining" and "crying." Will his most loyal constituents be discouraged from going back to the polls? Is he caught in a vice created by race and politics in America?
Standing in Line to Cast a Ballot Record numbers of voters are turning out in California, just as they are in the rest of the country. In Los Angeles County, several polling places were able to open up even after power outages caused by early-morning rain. Barack Obama 's expected to win big here. He's expected to turn out record numbers of African American voters and, in his so-called "western strategy," is counting on the votes of Latinos. But there's uncertainty about Proposition 8 , about other ballot measures, and even about the Legislature and Congress. We talk with the top state and local election officials about what's happened so far, and them and others about what to expect from an electorate that's bigger, younger and more diverse than ever before.
Barack Obama, Jesse Jackson and Political Expectations In the studios of Fox News, Rev. Jesse Jackson did not know the microphone was on, but was recorded saying to another guest, "Barack's been talking down to black people." Then he added a crude remark about wanting to cut off part of Barack Obama 's anatomy. Even Jackson's own son, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr, a co-chair of Obama's campaign, said the original comments were out of line. Jackson apologized quickly for the crude way he criticized Obama, but the sentiment behind his comments is shared by other black Americans. Some say that Obama's unexpected success leaves them with a sense of "vertigo." Should he talk more about correcting the legacy of slavery and discrimination? Does his nomination mean that black "victimhood" is a thing of the past?
How is Obama victory playing out in Los Angeles? Hillary Clinton's looking for a big win tomorrow in West Virginia, and she claims she'll have totaled more popular votes than Barack Obama by the time it's all over. That would have to include votes from Florida and Michigan, which are still in legal limbo. In any case, most surveys say that Obama now has more elected delegates and super delegates, and that he’s wrapped up the nomination.
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.