NEW YORK TO LA: THE FIGHT AGAINST GENTRIFICATION

March 3-9th 2008— The crippling effects of the housing crisis have hit low-income and immigrant communities in Los Angeles hardest. Next week, groups from all over the Southland will gather together for a series of community dialogues addressing gentrification and its effects on our communities.

These evening community ’charlas’ will take place in South LA, Boyle Heights, Echo Park, El Sereno, MacArthur Park, and Oxnard.

Concerned LA community members came together to organize this tour and have invited a group from New York to facilitate the discussions. The NY group, Movement for Justice in El Barrio, was founded by immigrants and low-income people of color. For the past three years, this 400-member strong tenant rights organization has successfully staved off the gentrification of Spanish Harlem.

Called the “Best Power to the People Movement in New York City” by the Village Voice, and described as “grass-roots democracy…being practiced by the immigrants who live in East Harlem” by the Daily News, Movement for Justice in El Barrio will be coming to LA to share their successes and discuss their organizing strategies.

Movement for Justice in El Barrio has been covered by news outlet such as Znet, La Jornada, the Indypendant, and El Diario, among others. They've shared their story at the US Social Forum, community dialogues, and university events across the country.

This tour has attracted the support and participation of groups and individuals all over the city, including: UCLA Labor Center, Los Angeles Parents Union, South Central Farm, Eastside Café, South Asian Network, Garment Workers Center, Community Coalition, UCLA Raza Graduate Student Association, Students for a Democratic Society UCLA, FIOB, Echo Park Film Center, UCLA MEChA, LA CAN, UCLA Student Worker Front, Proyecto de Jornaleros, Casa Del Pueblo Housing Cooperative, Las Poetas del Norte, CSUN Chicana/o Graduate Student Association, CHIRLA, CSUN MEChA, CSUN Chicana/o Studies Dept., Pilipino Worker’s Center, Cal State LA MEChA, CSLA Cross Cultural Centers, Centro de Mujer, Art for Action, Q-Team, Union del Barrio, Poder Popular, CAUSA, and many more……)

Tour Schedule:

Monday March 3rd:
7:00pm Cal State Northridge USU Theater with Gloria Muñoz Ramírez

Tuesday March 4th:
3:15pm Cal State Los Angeles Cross Cultural Center, Room D140
7:00pm South LA Charla @ South Central Farmers Centro, 1702 E. 41st Street, LA

Wednesday March 5th:
12:00pm UCLA Labor Center & MEChA
7:00pm Boyle Heights Charla @ Catholic Charities, 1307 Warren St, LA

Thursday March 6th:
10:00am Cal State Dominguez Hills
6:00pm Oxnard Charla

Friday March 7th:
6:00pm LA CAN event, 456 S. Main Street, LA

Saturday March 8th:
2:00pm MacArthur Park Charla @ UCLA Labor Center, 675 S Park View St. 1st Fl, LA
7:00pm House Party TBA

Sunday March 9th:
2:00pm Eastside Café, 5469 Huntington Drive, El Sereno
6:00pm Echo Park Film Center, 1200 N. Alvarado St. LA