Forward LA, Panel 5: Which Way, South LA: Making the Fugture in South Los Angeles; highlights, 2017-04-27/2017-04-28

Forward LA: Race, Arts, and Inclusive Placemaking after the 1992 Civil Unrest conference, Panel 5: Which Way, South LA: Making the Fugture in South Los Angeles; includes highlights. Presented by the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change. In 1992, South LA (and many parts of the rest of Los Angeles) exploded in a wave of civil unrest. The proximate trigger was a startling verdict in a case of police brutality but the fundamental causes were rooted in a toxic mix of neighborhood disinvestment, economic despair, over- policing, unhealthy land uses, as well as a series of other factors. South LA finds itself today still grappling with that legacy of economic neglect and mass incarceration but also facing a new set of challenges as well, including threats of gentrification and displacement and the need to successfully incorporate a large immigrant presence. At the same time, the area has shown tremendous resilience: It has gone through one of the most dramatic demographic transitions in urban America, sometimes with tension but often with grace, and it has cultivated a generation of leaders who are developing a shared vision for socially just and economically prosperous region. This panel will be a moderated discussion about the root causes of on-going struggles that pre-date the uprising and community-led efforts to improve conditions over the past 25 years with a focus on the grassroots organizing, power-building approaches, and strategic campaigns, 2017 April 27-28.