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:
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2009/04/226385.php.) The turnout was high: between 20 and 30 people, and the demonstrators were vocal and lively.
Indeed, as I neared the vigil (I arrived late) I could hear their shouts well before I was in sight of them-- the chanting disrupted the ambiance of the fancy Santorini Italian restaurant.
I felt encouraged to see so many young activists, most of whom seemed to be traditional college age or younger. (For years I've been going to weekly peace vigils and have often been the youngest participant, and I'm now 41—here, I was by far the oldest for much of of the time.) The young people have also been organizing the demonstrations and boycott.
This was a busier day in Old Town Pasadena than on previous Saturdays. On several occasions, cars were backed up in front of us, and there were a lot more pedestrians on both sides of the street. Many of them asked about the boycott and engaged in long conversations with demonstrators. However, many others walked in and out of the store despite the protest and would not take literature from us.
Many people inside the store noticed us, too—even when we weren't making any special effort to be heard in there. At one point, a rather irate-looking manager came over to the door (something about her told me she was a manager, probably the fact that acting irate seemed to come to her easily). However, she never confronted us and disappeared.
Among other things, the many chants asked shoppers to “walk out” or to get refunds on their purchases.
Once again, Forever 21 distributed literature of its own stating that the warehouses will create more jobs for the area, and "proposed distribution center site is an empty lot used by no one."
The speakers following the action included Linda Piera-Avila of the Green Party. “. . . I went to a movie screening last night [of The Garden],” she reported. “It was packed. People are continuing to learn about this issue. So thanks to you guys we're still in their faces. The Green Party of California supports the South Central Farmers because you guys embody fighting for social justice, for environmental justice, [inaudible]. So thank you very much for all of your work in keeping this going.”
One of the organizers reported a demonstration in solidarity at a Forever 21 outlet in San Diego. Indeed, 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.
Coverage of previous demonstrations in front of Pasadena's Forever 21 can be found here:
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/12/222947.php http://la.indymedia.org/news/2009/03/225113.php 