Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

On April 25, supporters of the South Central Farm held their third demonstration outside Forever 21 in Old Town Pasadena. (Background information can be found here.) The turnout was high: between 20 and 30 people, and the demonstrators were vocal and lively. . . .

This campaign is country-wide. However, not all of Forever 21's stores have the same name (even within Southern California). The names tend to be variations on Forever 21, like Forever Fabulous.

Report back and photos: Never Forever 21: Round 3 by RP

February 2, 2009: Another demonstration took place outside the Forever 21 in Old Town Pasadena. The turnout was even higher than the previous action of December 13, 2008. One demonstrator reported giving a leaflet to someone entering the store. This person looked at the flier, turned around, and exited. Many other passersby showed interest. Participants were asked to contact other Forever 21 outlets (see the list following this article) to remind them of the boycott.

Story and photos: Actions Against Forever 21 Continue by RP

December 25, 2008: Despite the threat of heavy rain, five of us turned out for our annual Xmas Day vigil. We have been vigiling on Xmas, at various locations, since 2004. Last year's holiday vigil was covered here.

This was the second year that the Northeast LA Radical Neighbors collaborated with the Montrose vigil. Some of us were a bit reticent to go out in the rain on a holiday, but activism isn't always about doing what one wants or feels like.

Story and photos: Xmas Day Vigil 2008 by R of the Northeast LA Radical Neighbors

This year's AntiMall was held at East LA's Chavez Studio. As organizer Laura Palomares explained on Uprising last year (full interview here), the concept was inspired by her experiences with Zapatistas and the notion of an alternative, parallel economy. The AntiMall brings together many co-ops. "So the idea of El Puente is providing a space where you know you're buying something directly from the artisan, and that group of people are working on making things better for their community," she explained to Uprising's Sonali Kolhatkar. "So they--for example, the Zapatistas--are not waiting for the government to come in and fix what's going on in their community. They're going to make a demand, but at the same time they're working on creating their own autonomous communities. So the purpose of El Puente is to support those communities in their struggles and not support things like Walmart and Target in our neighborhoods but really invest back into social change ."

Story and photos: 2008 AntiMall (part 1) and 2008 AntiMall (part 2) by RP

PASADENA, Dec. 13, 2008 - Despite the threat of rain and many other competing activist events this Saturday there was a very good turnout at the demonstration in front of Forever 21 in Old Town Pasadena. Forever 21 intends to build warehouse space on the land of the South Central Farm, which developer Ralph Horowitz acquired by dubious means. (More details here.)

Story/photos: "BOYCOTT FOREVER 21! BOYCOTT FOREVER 21!" by RP