May 7, 2025 • 33 mins
In our fifth-ever episode of the Next City podcast, we spoke to Jason Foster of Destination Crenshaw, a monument to Black Los Angeles that had just broken ground. Four years later, that 1.3-mile monument to Black culture—set to be the largest Black public art project in America—has started transforming the city's Crenshaw corridor.
Construction is nearly complete on Sankofa Park, the project's “crown jewel,” which will feature 40,000 square feet of green space and sculptural installations. The project launched last year with a mural by Los Angeles artist Anthony “Toons One” Martin, and, like every piece of the effort, it was an iterative process, Foster says.
“It started off just doing a mural. We ended up doing awning and lighting and some dog stencils for the dog lover business on the other side,” Foster says. “It turned into what I believe is a better interpretation of what Destination Crenshaw is, which is a holistic kind of community change using art—as not only beautification, but also an advertisement for the community [and the businesses along the corridor] to be that destination. It was something that I could not have imagined before.”
In this episode, we hear from Foster and L.A. City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who was pivotal to launching Destination Crenshaw.
Construction is nearly complete on Sankofa Park, the project's “crown jewel,” which will feature 40,000 square feet of green space and sculptural installations. The project launched last year with a mural by Los Angeles artist Anthony “Toons One” Martin, and, like every piece of the effort, it was an iterative process, Foster says.
“It started off just doing a mural. We ended up doing awning and lighting and some dog stencils for the dog lover business on the other side,” Foster says. “It turned into what I believe is a better interpretation of what Destination Crenshaw is, which is a holistic kind of community change using art—as not only beautification, but also an advertisement for the community [and the businesses along the corridor] to be that destination. It was something that I could not have imagined before.”
In this episode, we hear from Foster and L.A. City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who was pivotal to launching Destination Crenshaw.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Strawhut Media.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
He can be a part of the economy just like
anywhere else, and we can create an environment and a
platform where the value that African American culture creates in
the world, the value can be realized in the community
that it comes from.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
This is Lucas Grinley from Next City, a show about
change makers and their stories. Truth is, there are solutions
to the problems oppressing people in cities. If you're listening,
I hope it's because you want to spread good ideas
from one city to the next city. Back in twenty
twenty one, when this podcast was brand new, we spoke
to Jason Foster for our fifth episode ever about Destination Crenshaw,
(00:51):
a monument to black Los Angeles that had just broken ground.
Now four years later, that monument has come a long
way and it's already transform forming the Crenshaw Corridor. Maybe
you remember the story They were going to build a
metro line in Crenshaw, but not even stop there. It
would just drive by above ground on the street level.
The community fought back. Want to stop and imagine that
(01:13):
when passengers got off the train, they'd be greeted by
a one point three mile long monument filled with park
space and over one hundred pieces of public art celebrating
black culture. What began as a community's response to the
development of a new metro line has now evolved into
something much larger, a potential model for public private partnership,
a hub for small business support, and even a driver
(01:35):
of digital equity with free public broadband plan for the
entire corridor. In today's episode, we'll reconnect with Jason Foster,
president and CEO of Destination Crenshaw, to talk about what
it means to build a reparative project, one rooted in culture,
memory and purpose, and how that work can protect a
community's future without erasing its past. Later, we'll hear from
(01:57):
Los Angeles City Council President Marquise Harristawson, who was pivotal
to launching Destination Crunshaw. For him, it's not just about
preserving black culture. It's about making sure black communities benefit
right where that culture is greated. So I wanted to
check in about how things are going. I cannot believe
(02:18):
that the last time we spoke was twenty twenty one
and it is now somehow twenty twenty five. Oh, so
I feel like we should just start with what's different
what's going on.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
So Lucas, I mean, so much is going on. I
mean since twenty twenty one, we have been moving construction forward.
We're ninety five percent completed at San Coopa Park, very
close to completing. You know, what will be our crown jewel,
our largest parklet, forty thousand square feet or sculptures really
(02:52):
going to be what we believe is the proof of
concept for the best use of public space in Crunchhap
and in the Creunschhaw district. You know, our sculptures are done,
we're coordinating installs. It's a really really exciting time. It's
also the most stressful time because you.
Speaker 5 (03:11):
Know, all those things that are happening at once.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
It's got to be a little surreal, like to see
all this starting to happen.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
You know, it's great to see people experiencing it for
the first time when they comfort tours, but also the
people that.
Speaker 5 (03:26):
Have been around for a long time.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Getting their reactions to the actual you know work, how
it's happening, what's there right now.
Speaker 5 (03:35):
Being so close to being finished, I think.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
It is a balance to how challenging the project is
and being able to be reinvigorated by people seeing it
either for the first time or seeing it come to
reality right Like, I think those those two things are
very valuable for us as a team as we kind
of way through how difficult it's been over the last
(03:59):
four years.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Has it all stayed the same? Did you get like
the same amount of parklets you thought you were gonna get?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
It?
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Still over a mile long? It has everything really happened
the way you thought it would.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
So yes and no.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
Right, so we still have the same expectations. We're still
doing a total ten. We have six going right now.
San Copo Park is the one that is closest to
being finished, so that that isn't a ninety five percent,
and we'll finish that this year.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
We'll try to beat the people mover.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
And kind to show that proup of concepts, so moving
all of our energy in that direction. After that's done,
we'll move to the parklets and the streetscapes.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
What was the first one? What is it about?
Speaker 4 (04:42):
The first piece was actually a mural Anthony tumbeswon Martin
Murro called Hey Young World, you know, one of the
five murals that will go on the corridor, And it
just literally happened because I reached out to him on
the phone said Hey, I really need an artist to
take a chance and really set the standard of what
(05:02):
these murals are, right And.
Speaker 5 (05:05):
He said, okay, I'm in, and we went and went through.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
The entire process, and even that was an iterative process
where you know, it started off just doing a mirror.
Speaker 5 (05:17):
We ended up doing awning and lighting and you.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Know, some dog stencils for the dog Lover business on
the other side. Right, it turned into what I believe
is a better interpretation of what Destination Crimpshop is, which
is a holistic kind of community change using art right
like as not only beautification but also an advertisement for
the community to be that destination and the businesses along
(05:43):
the corridor.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
So it was you know, for me.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
I think, you know, something that I could not have
imagined before, you know, being able to kind of take
it in now. And I rode by the other day
and somebody was kind of taking a photo for social
medal with their kid.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
I mean, that's what you hope for, right, Like you
you don't get to really plan those, but the fact
that you know that's happening and people are starting to
embrace it the way that they are, I mean, it's invaluable.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
The last time we talked to you, were especially envisioning
what it would be like for children to go buy
the murals and see themselves in the art and imagine
what that means in their own lives and just grow
up differently because they went past this, right, and now
it's actually happening. You started end of twenty nineteen, and
(06:39):
I mean things had already been going on somewhat before
then for a while, but you started in twenty nineteen.
That's I guess, almost six years ago. How do you
keep going over a period like that, which was, yeah, tumultuous.
But for all these people who are saying, yeah, you
know it, one day, I can envision whatever it might
(07:01):
be that they're thinking of. What is your advice to
them about, Yeah, it's going to take six years or more,
and here's what you need.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
That's a great question, you know.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
I think it's been coming up for me more and
more now that LA is kind of responding to the
fires and folks as they start engaging in these immediate
responses and they start realizing how long the recovery actually is.
My kind of response to them is, you know, Crenshaw's
kind of been in recovery since twenty eleven around the
(07:36):
train's announcement and then the eight and a half years
of construction that took place. The benefit of being a
cultural infrastructure project is that you work at the pace
of infrastructure that is slow because it's permanent, and I
think that that pace allows us an opportunity to stay resilient.
Speaker 5 (07:57):
And to not burn out.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
It's also helpful to be a forward project, right, I'm
not resisting, right like, I'm not. I'm not having to
push up against this thing that you know ultimately will
overwhelm us.
Speaker 5 (08:13):
All right, We're trying to, you know, create a new
future for the.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
French Shaw district, and you know that's that's an opportunity
to be joyous and hopeful.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
I think I hear what you're saying, which is that
we don't know how long that recovery is going to take.
But one thing people can think about, or at least
that you're thinking about, is that, yeah, it can take
a long time, but you're still here doing it and
things do change over time, and sometimes it is hard
just to believe that it is possible. Right, So, and
(08:45):
then the other thing I hear you saying is that
along that time, the work at least feeds your soul,
right like that this is fulfilling work to know that
you're giving back in some way.
Speaker 5 (08:58):
Yeah, it's purposeful, you know.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
And when people say, you know, they're passionate about something,
you know, I kind of let them know that that
candle gets burnt, it gets blown out on time, you know,
so kind of watch your passion right like you'll run
very hot.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
But you know, ultimately you want to find purpose.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
And I found, you know, kind of the happy marriage
between all the things that I find are interesting in
this project and you know, hopefully building a team that
can find that same mix in you know, the kind
of all the stuff that we do.
Speaker 5 (09:30):
And then you know, one of the things that I've
been hoping for is the use of culture in our
response efforts, because you know, it's it's sharing those stories,
it's sharing the richness of those communities that can actually
provide a whole full window when the work.
Speaker 4 (09:46):
Gets hard, you know, when you're thinking about you know,
rebuilding that is reparative, which is what our project is.
It's a reparative development projects thinking about what are those
social and emotional aspects of rebuilding community that we have
to address.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
Jason describes Destination Crenshaw as a reparative project designed not
just to preserve culture, but to reinvest in the community
that created it. After the break, we'll hear how that
mission has expanded beyond art Welcome back. Before the break,
(10:27):
Jason described Destination Crenshaw as a repairative project, one that's
forward moving. That kind of work is rare for organizers
who are often fighting back, usually against forces that are
much bigger. In Crenshaw, this story started as a fight.
Residents objected to a train line that wasn't even going
to stop in the neighborhood. It was going to be
yet another train track dividing up a community. But what
(10:48):
followed was a monumental effort to make sure black culture
isn't displaced, it's celebrated. Ultimately, Destination Crenshaw has raised millions
of dollars and brought new development to Crenshaw, which means
Jason has to be talking to residents all the time
because development often raises questions for residents worried about displacement.
(11:11):
I actually saw a headline that was from KCRW writing
about and actually a really good article. Their headline was
Destination Quenshaw, a new cultural hub or an erasure of
black culture. And I was like, oh, Jason's going to
have to do it again. He's got to go out
and talk to people and say what perspective you're coming from? Right, So,
how does that go for you over six years doing
(11:34):
that all the time.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
Yeah, I mean I think it's it's understanding that, you know,
critique actually made us who we were in our greatest moment, right,
So you know, civil rights happened because James Lawns critique,
right residence critique, right like Malcolm X, Martin, Luther King.
(11:57):
They were critiquing society. We have to welcome that, and
we have to welcome the opportunity to have conversations that
are in essence friendly fire, right Like folks.
Speaker 5 (12:10):
That live in our community are like no, no.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
No, no, no, Jason, no, no, no, this is what
I see, right, because you know, I think that's a
that's fair. And so even in that situation with that article,
you know, people were obviously I'm not fans of the headline,
and you know, once I read it, I was like.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Oh, I mean I can see people asking that question, right,
Like I think.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
It was it was really trying to lift up a
community wide question, But if you look at the project,
it's actually the opposite, right, And how could you be
a project of black rature with one hundred black artists
doing commissions to actually celebrate that culture in a permanent fashion.
(12:54):
Now that we're getting closer to completing the project, it
is around not only the project, what are the programs.
What are the things that we're doing to supplement the
kind of growth in the community. How are we helping
the people the residents, Like there are things that we
are going to unpack, you know, the programmatic approach or
(13:16):
destination Prenchhaut.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
What's the experience? Right, like when you come, like, what's
going to happen? It's going to welcome you where you're
going to go?
Speaker 4 (13:23):
Right, So these are the things that we're really investigating
now to make sure that we're still meeting expectations even
after we finish, right, because you know, everyone will.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
Have their expectation, right, that'll be the critique, that'll be
the new one. Lucas. It's like, you know, after we're done,
they're like, well what about this? You should be doing this?
Speaker 4 (13:42):
And I think that that's where the community engagement still
keeps going.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
This value of welcoming critique. And I think that's really
an important point for folks who are working on these
long term projects, right. And it's also interesting because you're
in a position where, yeah, it's community organizing on behalf
of folks, and oftentimes for people, there comes a point
at which the community organizing group is considered powerful enough
(14:08):
or monied enough that then people there's a slight change
in tone somehow. Yeah, and you do have to welcome
more critique at that point. So what's an example or
I don't know if you can provide one where you
actively sought critique or it led to some improvement that
you welcomed in some way and you know, Okay, actually
(14:28):
that's that's a good point. I mean, just to show
kind of how this should work for folks.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
Well, I think our economic development program in general, right,
is all off of you know, particular concern around you know,
needing to have.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
The amenities match the project.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
We're doing a public arts project, we're doing a cultural project.
But there are people that you know, their job jobs foks, right,
Like they're like, okay, so how is the community finishing
from this economically? And you know that's a valid question,
and so having to investigate that having to really ask
the business owners. That's what got us started, That's what
(15:09):
got DC Thrive started. That's what probably got us out
over our skis as an SBA navigator right like.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
On a website taking calls from people. But you know,
then it allowed us to evolve our role as you know, a.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
Human facilitator of the process because we started realizing that
business owners were not feeling cared for as they went
through the process of you know, either trying to get
a loan or trying to get technical assistance, or especially
in an underbanked, undervalued community, that relationship has been destroyed, right,
(15:44):
Like they're cash only because they don't have an account, right,
and it's because you know, the relationship they've had over
the past fifteen years. So again that reparative project, it
is around saying like you know, I know that happened,
but this is this is a new CEF, this is
a new staff person, or this is a new product
(16:05):
that's been innovated to help you. And that's not in
no way, shape or form, you know what Destination Krinshall
started off to do.
Speaker 5 (16:16):
But it was necessary and you know, it doesn't have
to be forever honestly.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
You know, I think you know, once we find people
that are able to do it better or that already
do it now, our role is to just be the
place that they do it at.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
That's so interesting. Yeah, so you're saying destination Crunchhall is there.
You raised tens of millions of dollars and you're doing
all this work at the center of you know, the community.
People can see it. You have close relationship with city
council and city council president particularly right and people are saying, hey,
can you help me with this thing that I need
(16:54):
because you are now a prominent group and figure and
organization in the community, and it's not necessarily in your
original purview, but maybe it's a thing you're going to
have to do at least for now. That's what you're saying.
And it sounds like it's specifically in small business, you know,
sort of services and different it's everything.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
I mean, people are asking, you know, what are you
doing about home ownership, what are you doing about sustainability,
climate resilience, what are you doing about.
Speaker 5 (17:24):
Like, what are you doing about dash? You know, like
it's it's and I think that that is you know.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Ron Finley is on our Community Advisory Council, and he's like,
you know, this nonprofit is regenerative.
Speaker 5 (17:37):
It needs to be regenerative.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
So not only are you a startup nonprofit, you're able
to kind of be another one because the changes in
the community, we need to respond to those, right Like
we need to you know, be able to reach out
right in which we did a couple of years ago.
And you know, during that canvassing effort, it was all
about digital effort.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
It was coming out of COVID.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
Everybody needed you know, laptops and hotspots. And what we
found is that you know, ten percent of our community.
Speaker 5 (18:08):
Doesn't even have I speed service.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
They don't even have service, you know, forty percent of
the community you know, not connected to broadband.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
Sixty percent of the communities paying double the costs for
half the speed. So we started being a digital.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Equity group, right We started, you know, started you know
handing out you know devices, and that produced and that
relationship with the council president, you know, really produced the
nation's first difficult ecrimination bill at the city level, which
you know, then turned into free Wi Fi pilot that
we're going to have a destination. Crenshaw led to a
(18:44):
broadband project that we're trying to fund to have community
ownership in the five mint Right, it led to all
these different things, but that's because we listened.
Speaker 5 (18:56):
And it's hard.
Speaker 7 (18:58):
To continue to keep that principle because when you started
off as an organization that listened its public art is important,
it is very easy to stop there.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
So tell us more about the relationship between Destination Crenshaw
and the city council president. You mentioned this Wi Fi initiative.
I didn't know about that. That's pretty awesome, but I
mean his work kind of brought about Destination Crunchhawsail. You're
sort of inextricably tied forever. So what has that been
like and how has it been to work with a
(19:35):
city council in this way?
Speaker 4 (19:37):
Yeah, So, I mean Destination Crenshaw is very much the
moon of a planet of a solicystem. Right, and coalition
building has been happening in South LA for over forty years.
Speaker 5 (19:50):
Right, So, our Mayor Cam.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
Bass started an organization called Community Coalition, and our council
president was a you know, staff person a Community Coalition
and then was the leader of that organization for around
twenty years he was working there and then executive director,
and while he was the executive director, you know, the
(20:13):
train was then announced and then he led community organizing
that then became designation Crenshaw. It is a perk that
Mark Leis Harris Dawson, the council president, is a great
person and lives the work and is the work and
honestly cares about culture in a way that respects its value,
(20:38):
but also you know, understands that sometimes it is priceless, you.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
Know, in one way to be you know, kind of visionary.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
Behind destination Crenshaw and then at the same time be
the person a champion the first digital equity bill nationally
to come from the city level.
Speaker 5 (20:57):
Those two things don't happen right unless you are able
to understand that the culture is talking about both public
art and you know, I think that that flexibility.
Speaker 4 (21:10):
That comes from the organizing mindset, that comes from someone
that is constantly taking community feedback and how they do it.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Yeah, people will have a lot to learn from you
about public private partnerships, for sure.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
I mean, we're we're understanding that democracy is important right now,
and we're understanding that, you know, we need these things
to work, and sometimes you need something to get a
little bit ahead to proof of concept it so government
can be riciverse in the way that they.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
Move to fund it for scale. I mean, that's all
it is, you know, And I.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
Think, you know, we we kind of outsmart ourselves sometimes,
so we need somebody to.
Speaker 5 (21:49):
Get a little bit a little bit heads right, And
I think that that's what Descination Crunch I was trying
to do, is.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
To really figure out how do we build these models
for proof of concepts so that it can happen, you know,
at the city level. And the opportunity is that we
have a council president who now represents the entire city
and you know, by the way he thought about Destination Crenshaw,
So that's an opportunity, right, So you know, I think
(22:15):
that's that's what's exciting for me is to see what
he's about to do.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
After the break, we hear from Council President Marquise Harris Dawson,
who explains why this project isn't just about celebrating culture,
it's about building power where that culture is made. Welcome back.
Los Angeles City Council President Marquise Harris Dawson has been
(22:40):
part of Destination Crenshaw since the beginning, before he held office.
He was a community organizer in South LA and for him,
Crenshaw Boulevard has always been more than a street. It's
a cultural spine, a place where black life, business and
history all converge. The mission for Destination Crinchhaw was in
(23:03):
part to ensure Crenshaw Boulevard is a destination not to
pass through. And if someone went to Destination Crenshaw right
now for the first time, what would they find.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
What they would find is a lot of construction. They'd
find some pocket parks under construction. They'd find a large
sankofa park under construction. They'd also find a lot of
affordable and market rate housing by African American developers under construction.
They'd find the Crenshaw Wall under construction. So you'd see
a buzz of activity along the corridor as well as
(23:35):
the train which started running a few months ago.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
How does that buzz of activity make you feel to
see after all this time?
Speaker 2 (23:42):
You know, it's exciting because you know, the community came
up with a vision, we put in the resources that
we can muster and make the vision happen, and then
the community has just stepped up in a big way
to make it real. Frankly, more real than I imagined
it could be.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
Why do you say that more real than you imagined
it could.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Well, people are responding. I talked about the housing developments.
Those housing developments were not a part of the original plan.
That's those are things that developers saw and said, oh,
this is our community. We have to make sure we
step up. I'm going to step in and build housing
for our folks so that this community can maintain its character.
(24:22):
Those are the kinds of things that you are happening spontaneous.
There are other art installations that are happening spontaneously that
I hadn't imagined what happened when we started this process.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
And that's one of the interesting things is that Destination
Crenshaw was imagined as one thing, right, and then you
have this sort of community based group that exists, and
new things pop up, like they want the residents want,
pick your things, support for small business or one thing
that came up was internet connectivity. So can you tell
me about how it's grown in its mission?
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Well, you know, the community convening and setting out a
vision for what they want tommunity to be has happened
around Destination Crenshaw and so as a result, the destination.
Crunshaw Organization has a you know, a small business fund
and a small a small business assistance function with the
goal of making people ready for the full you know,
(25:16):
for the transit investment to happen at full tilt and
there to be more eyes and feet and pocketbooks on
the corridor than we've ever had before in history, you know,
So that's been something that's grown out of it. Also,
folks wanted to be able to make sure that people
had Internet access while they were on the corridor, and
(25:38):
so there was free broadband for the entirety, free high
speed broadband on the full corridor that you know is
just we're just finishing up installation of that. So anywhere
you are, you know, it'll be like it being in
a hotel lobby or at at the mall or something.
You'll be able to get free Wi Fi, which will
(25:59):
be important because folks, we want folks to research the
art installations. All of our art installations have some history.
The artist has history in the community, the piece has
hit history in terms of what it's trying to say.
And then you also can get a picture of what
Crenshaw's looked like over the years.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
You mentioned there's gonna be a lot more eyes, feet
and pocketbooks on the corridor, and that's going to be
exciting for sure, and then also probably worsome to some folks.
Right And you, I'm sure hear it all. As council president,
you hear it all.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
And there's a lot of fear and concern about the
train at the first stop because it felt like, well,
these new people with these new pocketbooks that are bigger
than ours can drive us out of the neighborhood. And
so that's why there was a concerted effort to make
sure that the Crenshaw and destination Crenshaw was for us
and by us. That is, we set out the vision,
(26:54):
we carry out the vision, but that the division is
really to serve our interests and for other people to
participate in facilitating our issue. Our interest and so our
interest is we want all of our small businesses to
be healthy so that people can work there, so that
small business people can afford to live in the community. Well,
we need those people with those pocketbooks to come off
and be customers, and we need them to go to
(27:18):
an art show, go to a restaurant, go to a bookstore,
buy some clothes or whatever, and get back on the
train and go to wherever they were planning to go
in the first place. But we can be a part
of the economy just like anywhere else, and we can
create an environment and a platform where the value that
(27:39):
African American culture creates in the world, the value can
be realized in the community that it comes from. Because
right now, or certainly before now, what happens is we
create value, we create a new sneaker or a song,
or a piece of art or a movie, and you
have to leave our community in order to consume it.
(28:01):
And those communities benefit from the consumption and our community doesn't.
And so this hopes to flip all that and make
it so again. You will be able to consume culture
in the community that it comes from with an authenticity
that you can't get anywhere else.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
When you do flip that, what does it look like like?
What is the picture that you see of the community
that has done that.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
The picture of the community that I see that has
done that, in part is Harlem in New York City. Historically,
even now, if you think about gentrification in the Borough
of Manhattan, you know, when I was growing up in
the eighties, Manhattan had working class neighborhoods and ethnic neighborhoods
and all the rest. And now you go to Manhattan,
(28:45):
and outside of Harlem, Manhattan is pretty homogeneous, or at
least feels that way. When you get off of Harlem,
you get off the A train one hundred and twenty
fifth Street, you know you're in Harlem right away.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
You know.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
It's the music you see, that's the rhythm. And then
it's the merchants, and it's the people, and it's the churches,
and it's the cultural assets that are in that place
that are fixed so that the neighborhood maintains its character.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
And I know it's been a priority for you the
whole time to create something ultimately that resonates with people
in Crenshaw because they have a sense of ownership of
everything from the art to the businesses everything. How will
you know when you've done it or are you already
seeing signs that it's happening that people feel that way.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
We're already seeing some signs. In terms of I talked
about the new ownership. I mean the ownership has increased
threefold African American ownership of both commercial and residential land
on the Crenchhow Boulevard, so that the investor class in
the African American community has.
Speaker 5 (29:48):
Stepped up and continues to step up.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
But also I feel like I know we're being successful
when I started seeing the signs come up in Altadena
saying Altadena is not for sale. That's the signal that
everybody understands the assignment and that these communities that the
Black communities invested in, poured everything we have in, you know,
(30:11):
put our best foot forward in, are worth fighting over.
Speaker 5 (30:14):
And I think that's true.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Of Crenshaw, and I think it's true of Aladina as well.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
That's the perfect transition to another episode we have planned.
We'll hear more from Council President Harris Dawson in the
next episode, focused on what's happening just north of Crenshaw
and Altadena. But before we go, let's come back to
Jason Foster, President and CEO of Destination Crenshaw, Because while
so much of the conversation around this project has been
about planning, organizing, and overcoming obstacles, what's just as powerful
(30:45):
is the fact that it's happening at all. The art
is going up, the parks are taking shape, and as
Jason reminds us the future they've been building all these
years is finally arriving.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
I think that's what you need to know. We already
said it, but you need to know it again. Destination Crenshaw.
Speaker 5 (30:59):
We're going to completely it.
Speaker 4 (31:01):
It's going to be, you know what we aim to
be the most dynamic expression of Black American culture and
it's going to be great. We're doing it in order
to really have the community own the Destination. You know,
it's here and I look forward to people experiencing it
from the visitor standpoint, from the from the user experience
(31:24):
right of what it can create after that.
Speaker 5 (31:26):
So I'm super excited about that.
Speaker 3 (31:29):
I mean, I know it'll never be complete. But is
there a party planned or something like that in particular?
Speaker 7 (31:35):
Date?
Speaker 5 (31:36):
Detail's coming soon.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
Okay, we'll be looking for the party.
Speaker 4 (31:39):
That's that's the that's the thing we know how to do,
so that'll that'll be the easy part. But you know,
details coming soon on that and hopefully we'll get the
whole Next City team out.
Speaker 5 (31:49):
We need to do something live that's same cup of park.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Next City, a
show about change makers and their stories. Together we can
spread good ideas from One City to the Next City.
Thank you for listening this week. Thank you to our
guests Jason Foster, President and CEO of Destination Crenshaw and
Los Angeles City Council President mar Queens Harris Dawson. Our
audio producer is Silvana Alcala. Our show producer is Maggie Bowles,
(32:29):
Our executive producer is Ryan Tillotson. And I'm Lucas Grinley,
Executive director for Next City. By the way, Next City
is a news organization with a nonprofit model. If you
like what we're doing here, please consider pitching in to
support our work. Visit nextcity dot org slash membership to
make a donation. We'd love to hear any feedback from
our listeners. Please feel free to email us at info
atnexcity dot org and if you haven't already, subscribed to
(32:52):
the show on Apples, Spotify, good Pods, or anywhere you
listen to your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Not Know Learn Everything s
Strawhut Media.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
He can be a part of the economy just like
anywhere else, and we can create an environment and a
platform where the value that African American culture creates in
the world, the value can be realized in the community
that it comes from.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
This is Lucas Grinley from Next City, a show about
change makers and their stories. Truth is, there are solutions
to the problems oppressing people in cities. If you're listening,
I hope it's because you want to spread good ideas
from one city to the next city. Back in twenty
twenty one, when this podcast was brand new, we spoke
to Jason Foster for our fifth episode ever about Destination Crenshaw,
(00:51):
a monument to black Los Angeles that had just broken ground.
Now four years later, that monument has come a long
way and it's already transform forming the Crenshaw Corridor. Maybe
you remember the story They were going to build a
metro line in Crenshaw, but not even stop there. It
would just drive by above ground on the street level.
The community fought back. Want to stop and imagine that
(01:13):
when passengers got off the train, they'd be greeted by
a one point three mile long monument filled with park
space and over one hundred pieces of public art celebrating
black culture. What began as a community's response to the
development of a new metro line has now evolved into
something much larger, a potential model for public private partnership,
a hub for small business support, and even a driver
(01:35):
of digital equity with free public broadband plan for the
entire corridor. In today's episode, we'll reconnect with Jason Foster,
president and CEO of Destination Crenshaw, to talk about what
it means to build a reparative project, one rooted in culture,
memory and purpose, and how that work can protect a
community's future without erasing its past. Later, we'll hear from
(01:57):
Los Angeles City Council President Marquise Harristawson, who was pivotal
to launching Destination Crunshaw. For him, it's not just about
preserving black culture. It's about making sure black communities benefit
right where that culture is greated. So I wanted to
check in about how things are going. I cannot believe
(02:18):
that the last time we spoke was twenty twenty one
and it is now somehow twenty twenty five. Oh, so
I feel like we should just start with what's different
what's going on.
Speaker 4 (02:30):
So Lucas, I mean, so much is going on. I
mean since twenty twenty one, we have been moving construction forward.
We're ninety five percent completed at San Coopa Park, very
close to completing. You know, what will be our crown jewel,
our largest parklet, forty thousand square feet or sculptures really
(02:52):
going to be what we believe is the proof of
concept for the best use of public space in Crunchhap
and in the Creunschhaw district. You know, our sculptures are done,
we're coordinating installs. It's a really really exciting time. It's
also the most stressful time because you.
Speaker 5 (03:11):
Know, all those things that are happening at once.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
It's got to be a little surreal, like to see
all this starting to happen.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
You know, it's great to see people experiencing it for
the first time when they comfort tours, but also the
people that.
Speaker 5 (03:26):
Have been around for a long time.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Getting their reactions to the actual you know work, how
it's happening, what's there right now.
Speaker 5 (03:35):
Being so close to being finished, I think.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
It is a balance to how challenging the project is
and being able to be reinvigorated by people seeing it
either for the first time or seeing it come to
reality right Like, I think those those two things are
very valuable for us as a team as we kind
of way through how difficult it's been over the last
(03:59):
four years.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Has it all stayed the same? Did you get like
the same amount of parklets you thought you were gonna get?
Speaker 2 (04:06):
It?
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Still over a mile long? It has everything really happened
the way you thought it would.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
So yes and no.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
Right, so we still have the same expectations. We're still
doing a total ten. We have six going right now.
San Copo Park is the one that is closest to
being finished, so that that isn't a ninety five percent,
and we'll finish that this year.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
We'll try to beat the people mover.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
And kind to show that proup of concepts, so moving
all of our energy in that direction. After that's done,
we'll move to the parklets and the streetscapes.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
What was the first one? What is it about?
Speaker 4 (04:42):
The first piece was actually a mural Anthony tumbeswon Martin
Murro called Hey Young World, you know, one of the
five murals that will go on the corridor, And it
just literally happened because I reached out to him on
the phone said Hey, I really need an artist to
take a chance and really set the standard of what
(05:02):
these murals are, right And.
Speaker 5 (05:05):
He said, okay, I'm in, and we went and went through.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
The entire process, and even that was an iterative process
where you know, it started off just doing a mirror.
Speaker 5 (05:17):
We ended up doing awning and lighting and you.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
Know, some dog stencils for the dog Lover business on
the other side. Right, it turned into what I believe
is a better interpretation of what Destination Crimpshop is, which
is a holistic kind of community change using art right
like as not only beautification but also an advertisement for
the community to be that destination and the businesses along
(05:43):
the corridor.
Speaker 5 (05:44):
So it was you know, for me.
Speaker 4 (05:46):
I think, you know, something that I could not have
imagined before, you know, being able to kind of take
it in now. And I rode by the other day
and somebody was kind of taking a photo for social
medal with their kid.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
I mean, that's what you hope for, right, Like you
you don't get to really plan those, but the fact
that you know that's happening and people are starting to
embrace it the way that they are, I mean, it's invaluable.
Speaker 3 (06:19):
The last time we talked to you, were especially envisioning
what it would be like for children to go buy
the murals and see themselves in the art and imagine
what that means in their own lives and just grow
up differently because they went past this, right, and now
it's actually happening. You started end of twenty nineteen, and
(06:39):
I mean things had already been going on somewhat before
then for a while, but you started in twenty nineteen.
That's I guess, almost six years ago. How do you
keep going over a period like that, which was, yeah, tumultuous.
But for all these people who are saying, yeah, you
know it, one day, I can envision whatever it might
(07:01):
be that they're thinking of. What is your advice to
them about, Yeah, it's going to take six years or more,
and here's what you need.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
That's a great question, you know.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
I think it's been coming up for me more and
more now that LA is kind of responding to the
fires and folks as they start engaging in these immediate
responses and they start realizing how long the recovery actually is.
My kind of response to them is, you know, Crenshaw's
kind of been in recovery since twenty eleven around the
(07:36):
train's announcement and then the eight and a half years
of construction that took place. The benefit of being a
cultural infrastructure project is that you work at the pace
of infrastructure that is slow because it's permanent, and I
think that that pace allows us an opportunity to stay resilient.
Speaker 5 (07:57):
And to not burn out.
Speaker 4 (08:00):
It's also helpful to be a forward project, right, I'm
not resisting, right like, I'm not. I'm not having to
push up against this thing that you know ultimately will
overwhelm us.
Speaker 5 (08:13):
All right, We're trying to, you know, create a new
future for the.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
French Shaw district, and you know that's that's an opportunity
to be joyous and hopeful.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
I think I hear what you're saying, which is that
we don't know how long that recovery is going to take.
But one thing people can think about, or at least
that you're thinking about, is that, yeah, it can take
a long time, but you're still here doing it and
things do change over time, and sometimes it is hard
just to believe that it is possible. Right, So, and
(08:45):
then the other thing I hear you saying is that
along that time, the work at least feeds your soul,
right like that this is fulfilling work to know that
you're giving back in some way.
Speaker 5 (08:58):
Yeah, it's purposeful, you know.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
And when people say, you know, they're passionate about something,
you know, I kind of let them know that that
candle gets burnt, it gets blown out on time, you know,
so kind of watch your passion right like you'll run
very hot.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
But you know, ultimately you want to find purpose.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
And I found, you know, kind of the happy marriage
between all the things that I find are interesting in
this project and you know, hopefully building a team that
can find that same mix in you know, the kind
of all the stuff that we do.
Speaker 5 (09:30):
And then you know, one of the things that I've
been hoping for is the use of culture in our
response efforts, because you know, it's it's sharing those stories,
it's sharing the richness of those communities that can actually
provide a whole full window when the work.
Speaker 4 (09:46):
Gets hard, you know, when you're thinking about you know,
rebuilding that is reparative, which is what our project is.
It's a reparative development projects thinking about what are those
social and emotional aspects of rebuilding community that we have
to address.
Speaker 3 (10:05):
Jason describes Destination Crenshaw as a reparative project designed not
just to preserve culture, but to reinvest in the community
that created it. After the break, we'll hear how that
mission has expanded beyond art Welcome back. Before the break,
(10:27):
Jason described Destination Crenshaw as a repairative project, one that's
forward moving. That kind of work is rare for organizers
who are often fighting back, usually against forces that are
much bigger. In Crenshaw, this story started as a fight.
Residents objected to a train line that wasn't even going
to stop in the neighborhood. It was going to be
yet another train track dividing up a community. But what
(10:48):
followed was a monumental effort to make sure black culture
isn't displaced, it's celebrated. Ultimately, Destination Crenshaw has raised millions
of dollars and brought new development to Crenshaw, which means
Jason has to be talking to residents all the time
because development often raises questions for residents worried about displacement.
(11:11):
I actually saw a headline that was from KCRW writing
about and actually a really good article. Their headline was
Destination Quenshaw, a new cultural hub or an erasure of
black culture. And I was like, oh, Jason's going to
have to do it again. He's got to go out
and talk to people and say what perspective you're coming from? Right, So,
how does that go for you over six years doing
(11:34):
that all the time.
Speaker 4 (11:36):
Yeah, I mean I think it's it's understanding that, you know,
critique actually made us who we were in our greatest moment, right,
So you know, civil rights happened because James Lawns critique,
right residence critique, right like Malcolm X, Martin, Luther King.
(11:57):
They were critiquing society. We have to welcome that, and
we have to welcome the opportunity to have conversations that
are in essence friendly fire, right Like folks.
Speaker 5 (12:10):
That live in our community are like no, no.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
No, no, no, Jason, no, no, no, this is what
I see, right, because you know, I think that's a
that's fair. And so even in that situation with that article,
you know, people were obviously I'm not fans of the headline,
and you know, once I read it, I was like.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
Oh, I mean I can see people asking that question, right,
Like I think.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
It was it was really trying to lift up a
community wide question, But if you look at the project,
it's actually the opposite, right, And how could you be
a project of black rature with one hundred black artists
doing commissions to actually celebrate that culture in a permanent fashion.
(12:54):
Now that we're getting closer to completing the project, it
is around not only the project, what are the programs.
What are the things that we're doing to supplement the
kind of growth in the community. How are we helping
the people the residents, Like there are things that we
are going to unpack, you know, the programmatic approach or
(13:16):
destination Prenchhaut.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
What's the experience? Right, like when you come, like, what's
going to happen? It's going to welcome you where you're
going to go?
Speaker 4 (13:23):
Right, So these are the things that we're really investigating
now to make sure that we're still meeting expectations even
after we finish, right, because you know, everyone will.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
Have their expectation, right, that'll be the critique, that'll be
the new one. Lucas. It's like, you know, after we're done,
they're like, well what about this? You should be doing this?
Speaker 4 (13:42):
And I think that that's where the community engagement still
keeps going.
Speaker 3 (13:46):
This value of welcoming critique. And I think that's really
an important point for folks who are working on these
long term projects, right. And it's also interesting because you're
in a position where, yeah, it's community organizing on behalf
of folks, and oftentimes for people, there comes a point
at which the community organizing group is considered powerful enough
(14:08):
or monied enough that then people there's a slight change
in tone somehow. Yeah, and you do have to welcome
more critique at that point. So what's an example or
I don't know if you can provide one where you
actively sought critique or it led to some improvement that
you welcomed in some way and you know, Okay, actually
(14:28):
that's that's a good point. I mean, just to show
kind of how this should work for folks.
Speaker 4 (14:33):
Well, I think our economic development program in general, right,
is all off of you know, particular concern around you know,
needing to have.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
The amenities match the project.
Speaker 4 (14:46):
We're doing a public arts project, we're doing a cultural project.
But there are people that you know, their job jobs foks, right,
Like they're like, okay, so how is the community finishing
from this economically? And you know that's a valid question,
and so having to investigate that having to really ask
the business owners. That's what got us started, That's what
(15:09):
got DC Thrive started. That's what probably got us out
over our skis as an SBA navigator right like.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
On a website taking calls from people. But you know,
then it allowed us to evolve our role as you know, a.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
Human facilitator of the process because we started realizing that
business owners were not feeling cared for as they went
through the process of you know, either trying to get
a loan or trying to get technical assistance, or especially
in an underbanked, undervalued community, that relationship has been destroyed, right,
(15:44):
Like they're cash only because they don't have an account, right,
and it's because you know, the relationship they've had over
the past fifteen years. So again that reparative project, it
is around saying like you know, I know that happened,
but this is this is a new CEF, this is
a new staff person, or this is a new product
(16:05):
that's been innovated to help you. And that's not in
no way, shape or form, you know what Destination Krinshall
started off to do.
Speaker 5 (16:16):
But it was necessary and you know, it doesn't have
to be forever honestly.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
You know, I think you know, once we find people
that are able to do it better or that already
do it now, our role is to just be the
place that they do it at.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
That's so interesting. Yeah, so you're saying destination Crunchhall is there.
You raised tens of millions of dollars and you're doing
all this work at the center of you know, the community.
People can see it. You have close relationship with city
council and city council president particularly right and people are saying, hey,
can you help me with this thing that I need
(16:54):
because you are now a prominent group and figure and
organization in the community, and it's not necessarily in your
original purview, but maybe it's a thing you're going to
have to do at least for now. That's what you're saying.
And it sounds like it's specifically in small business, you know,
sort of services and different it's everything.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
I mean, people are asking, you know, what are you
doing about home ownership, what are you doing about sustainability,
climate resilience, what are you doing about.
Speaker 5 (17:24):
Like, what are you doing about dash? You know, like
it's it's and I think that that is you know.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Ron Finley is on our Community Advisory Council, and he's like,
you know, this nonprofit is regenerative.
Speaker 5 (17:37):
It needs to be regenerative.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
So not only are you a startup nonprofit, you're able
to kind of be another one because the changes in
the community, we need to respond to those, right Like
we need to you know, be able to reach out
right in which we did a couple of years ago.
And you know, during that canvassing effort, it was all
about digital effort.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
It was coming out of COVID.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
Everybody needed you know, laptops and hotspots. And what we
found is that you know, ten percent of our community.
Speaker 5 (18:08):
Doesn't even have I speed service.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
They don't even have service, you know, forty percent of
the community you know, not connected to broadband.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
Sixty percent of the communities paying double the costs for
half the speed. So we started being a digital.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Equity group, right We started, you know, started you know
handing out you know devices, and that produced and that
relationship with the council president, you know, really produced the
nation's first difficult ecrimination bill at the city level, which
you know, then turned into free Wi Fi pilot that
we're going to have a destination. Crenshaw led to a
(18:44):
broadband project that we're trying to fund to have community
ownership in the five mint Right, it led to all
these different things, but that's because we listened.
Speaker 5 (18:56):
And it's hard.
Speaker 7 (18:58):
To continue to keep that principle because when you started
off as an organization that listened its public art is important,
it is very easy to stop there.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
So tell us more about the relationship between Destination Crenshaw
and the city council president. You mentioned this Wi Fi initiative.
I didn't know about that. That's pretty awesome, but I
mean his work kind of brought about Destination Crunchhawsail. You're
sort of inextricably tied forever. So what has that been
like and how has it been to work with a
(19:35):
city council in this way?
Speaker 4 (19:37):
Yeah, So, I mean Destination Crenshaw is very much the
moon of a planet of a solicystem. Right, and coalition
building has been happening in South LA for over forty years.
Speaker 5 (19:50):
Right, So, our Mayor Cam.
Speaker 4 (19:51):
Bass started an organization called Community Coalition, and our council
president was a you know, staff person a Community Coalition
and then was the leader of that organization for around
twenty years he was working there and then executive director,
and while he was the executive director, you know, the
(20:13):
train was then announced and then he led community organizing
that then became designation Crenshaw. It is a perk that
Mark Leis Harris Dawson, the council president, is a great
person and lives the work and is the work and
honestly cares about culture in a way that respects its value,
(20:38):
but also you know, understands that sometimes it is priceless, you.
Speaker 5 (20:43):
Know, in one way to be you know, kind of visionary.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
Behind destination Crenshaw and then at the same time be
the person a champion the first digital equity bill nationally
to come from the city level.
Speaker 5 (20:57):
Those two things don't happen right unless you are able
to understand that the culture is talking about both public
art and you know, I think that that flexibility.
Speaker 4 (21:10):
That comes from the organizing mindset, that comes from someone
that is constantly taking community feedback and how they do it.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Yeah, people will have a lot to learn from you
about public private partnerships, for sure.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
I mean, we're we're understanding that democracy is important right now,
and we're understanding that, you know, we need these things
to work, and sometimes you need something to get a
little bit ahead to proof of concept it so government
can be riciverse in the way that they.
Speaker 5 (21:40):
Move to fund it for scale. I mean, that's all
it is, you know, And I.
Speaker 4 (21:45):
Think, you know, we we kind of outsmart ourselves sometimes,
so we need somebody to.
Speaker 5 (21:49):
Get a little bit a little bit heads right, And
I think that that's what Descination Crunch I was trying
to do, is.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
To really figure out how do we build these models
for proof of concepts so that it can happen, you know,
at the city level. And the opportunity is that we
have a council president who now represents the entire city
and you know, by the way he thought about Destination Crenshaw,
So that's an opportunity, right, So you know, I think
(22:15):
that's that's what's exciting for me is to see what
he's about to do.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
After the break, we hear from Council President Marquise Harris Dawson,
who explains why this project isn't just about celebrating culture,
it's about building power where that culture is made. Welcome back.
Los Angeles City Council President Marquise Harris Dawson has been
(22:40):
part of Destination Crenshaw since the beginning, before he held office.
He was a community organizer in South LA and for him,
Crenshaw Boulevard has always been more than a street. It's
a cultural spine, a place where black life, business and
history all converge. The mission for Destination Crinchhaw was in
(23:03):
part to ensure Crenshaw Boulevard is a destination not to
pass through. And if someone went to Destination Crenshaw right
now for the first time, what would they find.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
What they would find is a lot of construction. They'd
find some pocket parks under construction. They'd find a large
sankofa park under construction. They'd also find a lot of
affordable and market rate housing by African American developers under construction.
They'd find the Crenshaw Wall under construction. So you'd see
a buzz of activity along the corridor as well as
(23:35):
the train which started running a few months ago.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
How does that buzz of activity make you feel to
see after all this time?
Speaker 2 (23:42):
You know, it's exciting because you know, the community came
up with a vision, we put in the resources that
we can muster and make the vision happen, and then
the community has just stepped up in a big way
to make it real. Frankly, more real than I imagined
it could be.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
Why do you say that more real than you imagined
it could.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
Well, people are responding. I talked about the housing developments.
Those housing developments were not a part of the original plan.
That's those are things that developers saw and said, oh,
this is our community. We have to make sure we
step up. I'm going to step in and build housing
for our folks so that this community can maintain its character.
(24:22):
Those are the kinds of things that you are happening spontaneous.
There are other art installations that are happening spontaneously that
I hadn't imagined what happened when we started this process.
Speaker 3 (24:32):
And that's one of the interesting things is that Destination
Crenshaw was imagined as one thing, right, and then you
have this sort of community based group that exists, and
new things pop up, like they want the residents want,
pick your things, support for small business or one thing
that came up was internet connectivity. So can you tell
me about how it's grown in its mission?
Speaker 2 (24:55):
Well, you know, the community convening and setting out a
vision for what they want tommunity to be has happened
around Destination Crenshaw and so as a result, the destination.
Crunshaw Organization has a you know, a small business fund
and a small a small business assistance function with the
goal of making people ready for the full you know,
(25:16):
for the transit investment to happen at full tilt and
there to be more eyes and feet and pocketbooks on
the corridor than we've ever had before in history, you know,
So that's been something that's grown out of it. Also,
folks wanted to be able to make sure that people
had Internet access while they were on the corridor, and
(25:38):
so there was free broadband for the entirety, free high
speed broadband on the full corridor that you know is
just we're just finishing up installation of that. So anywhere
you are, you know, it'll be like it being in
a hotel lobby or at at the mall or something.
You'll be able to get free Wi Fi, which will
(25:59):
be important because folks, we want folks to research the
art installations. All of our art installations have some history.
The artist has history in the community, the piece has
hit history in terms of what it's trying to say.
And then you also can get a picture of what
Crenshaw's looked like over the years.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
You mentioned there's gonna be a lot more eyes, feet
and pocketbooks on the corridor, and that's going to be
exciting for sure, and then also probably worsome to some folks.
Right And you, I'm sure hear it all. As council president,
you hear it all.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
And there's a lot of fear and concern about the
train at the first stop because it felt like, well,
these new people with these new pocketbooks that are bigger
than ours can drive us out of the neighborhood. And
so that's why there was a concerted effort to make
sure that the Crenshaw and destination Crenshaw was for us
and by us. That is, we set out the vision,
(26:54):
we carry out the vision, but that the division is
really to serve our interests and for other people to
participate in facilitating our issue. Our interest and so our
interest is we want all of our small businesses to
be healthy so that people can work there, so that
small business people can afford to live in the community. Well,
we need those people with those pocketbooks to come off
and be customers, and we need them to go to
(27:18):
an art show, go to a restaurant, go to a bookstore,
buy some clothes or whatever, and get back on the
train and go to wherever they were planning to go
in the first place. But we can be a part
of the economy just like anywhere else, and we can
create an environment and a platform where the value that
(27:39):
African American culture creates in the world, the value can
be realized in the community that it comes from. Because
right now, or certainly before now, what happens is we
create value, we create a new sneaker or a song,
or a piece of art or a movie, and you
have to leave our community in order to consume it.
(28:01):
And those communities benefit from the consumption and our community doesn't.
And so this hopes to flip all that and make
it so again. You will be able to consume culture
in the community that it comes from with an authenticity
that you can't get anywhere else.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
When you do flip that, what does it look like like?
What is the picture that you see of the community
that has done that.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
The picture of the community that I see that has
done that, in part is Harlem in New York City. Historically,
even now, if you think about gentrification in the Borough
of Manhattan, you know, when I was growing up in
the eighties, Manhattan had working class neighborhoods and ethnic neighborhoods
and all the rest. And now you go to Manhattan,
(28:45):
and outside of Harlem, Manhattan is pretty homogeneous, or at
least feels that way. When you get off of Harlem,
you get off the A train one hundred and twenty
fifth Street, you know you're in Harlem right away.
Speaker 4 (28:57):
You know.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
It's the music you see, that's the rhythm. And then
it's the merchants, and it's the people, and it's the churches,
and it's the cultural assets that are in that place
that are fixed so that the neighborhood maintains its character.
Speaker 3 (29:13):
And I know it's been a priority for you the
whole time to create something ultimately that resonates with people
in Crenshaw because they have a sense of ownership of
everything from the art to the businesses everything. How will
you know when you've done it or are you already
seeing signs that it's happening that people feel that way.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
We're already seeing some signs. In terms of I talked
about the new ownership. I mean the ownership has increased
threefold African American ownership of both commercial and residential land
on the Crenchhow Boulevard, so that the investor class in
the African American community has.
Speaker 5 (29:48):
Stepped up and continues to step up.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
But also I feel like I know we're being successful
when I started seeing the signs come up in Altadena
saying Altadena is not for sale. That's the signal that
everybody understands the assignment and that these communities that the
Black communities invested in, poured everything we have in, you know,
(30:11):
put our best foot forward in, are worth fighting over.
Speaker 5 (30:14):
And I think that's true.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
Of Crenshaw, and I think it's true of Aladina as well.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
That's the perfect transition to another episode we have planned.
We'll hear more from Council President Harris Dawson in the
next episode, focused on what's happening just north of Crenshaw
and Altadena. But before we go, let's come back to
Jason Foster, President and CEO of Destination Crenshaw, Because while
so much of the conversation around this project has been
about planning, organizing, and overcoming obstacles, what's just as powerful
(30:45):
is the fact that it's happening at all. The art
is going up, the parks are taking shape, and as
Jason reminds us the future they've been building all these
years is finally arriving.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
I think that's what you need to know. We already
said it, but you need to know it again. Destination Crenshaw.
Speaker 5 (30:59):
We're going to completely it.
Speaker 4 (31:01):
It's going to be, you know what we aim to
be the most dynamic expression of Black American culture and
it's going to be great. We're doing it in order
to really have the community own the Destination. You know,
it's here and I look forward to people experiencing it
from the visitor standpoint, from the from the user experience
(31:24):
right of what it can create after that.
Speaker 5 (31:26):
So I'm super excited about that.
Speaker 3 (31:29):
I mean, I know it'll never be complete. But is
there a party planned or something like that in particular?
Speaker 7 (31:35):
Date?
Speaker 5 (31:36):
Detail's coming soon.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
Okay, we'll be looking for the party.
Speaker 4 (31:39):
That's that's the that's the thing we know how to do,
so that'll that'll be the easy part. But you know,
details coming soon on that and hopefully we'll get the
whole Next City team out.
Speaker 5 (31:49):
We need to do something live that's same cup of park.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Next City, a
show about change makers and their stories. Together we can
spread good ideas from One City to the Next City.
Thank you for listening this week. Thank you to our
guests Jason Foster, President and CEO of Destination Crenshaw and
Los Angeles City Council President mar Queens Harris Dawson. Our
audio producer is Silvana Alcala. Our show producer is Maggie Bowles,
(32:29):
Our executive producer is Ryan Tillotson. And I'm Lucas Grinley,
Executive director for Next City. By the way, Next City
is a news organization with a nonprofit model. If you
like what we're doing here, please consider pitching in to
support our work. Visit nextcity dot org slash membership to
make a donation. We'd love to hear any feedback from
our listeners. Please feel free to email us at info
atnexcity dot org and if you haven't already, subscribed to
(32:52):
the show on Apples, Spotify, good Pods, or anywhere you
listen to your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
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