INTRODUCTION The other day, I thought it might be nice to submit a story for the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council newsletter for Black History Month. I figured I'd flesh it out and publish it here -- a story about three culturally and historically significant black residents of the neighborhood. Silver Lake, in its early years, … Continue reading Black Pioneers of Silver Lake
Tag: Black History Month
A Guide to African Cinema
INTRODUCTION One might think that defining African Cinema would be an easy enough task. Spend a little time in the attempt, however, and the difficulty in doing so definitively soon becomes evident. A film set in Africa, shot in Africa by an African crew, and starring an African cast is certainly an example of African … Continue reading A Guide to African Cinema
No Enclave — Exploring Belizean Los Angeles
INTRODUCTION Earlier this week, a reader suggested that I devote a No Enclave to Belizean Los Angeles. I had come across some Belizean businesses here and there when traversing the Westside of South Los Angeles but had no idea just how big the Belizean community of Los Angeles is. In fact, not only is Metro … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Belizean Los Angeles
No Enclave — Exploring Somali Los Angeles
SOMALI AMERICANS Although the first Somalis in the US arrived as sailors on British vessels in the 19th century, the vast majority of Somali Americans arrived as refugees from the Somali Civil War, which broke out in the late 1980s and resulted in the collapse of the Somali government in 1991. The largest community of … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Somali Los Angeles
Urban Rambles – Exploring Bronzeville with Maya and Michael
2017 is my tenth year of exploring and writing about Los Angeles communities. In 2007 I explored Granada Hills, Montebello, and Alhambra, and titled my series California Fool's Gold in homage to Huell Howser's California's Gold (1991-2012). In 2014 I spun off a related series, Urban Rambles, in which I undertake short, small, loosely structured walks of various corners of Southern California. … Continue reading Urban Rambles – Exploring Bronzeville with Maya and Michael
No Enclave — Exploring Eritrean-Los Angeles
Since the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 Africans have immigrated to the US, accounting for just 3.3% of total immigration. Although Black History Month observances typically focus on native Black Americans whose ancestors came to the US by means of the Atlantic slave trade — and … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Eritrean-Los Angeles
No Enclave — Exploring Nigerian Los Angeles
As you're probably aware, February is Black History Month. Most of the month's observances will naturally focus on the long history of black African-Americans, most of whose ancestors were brought to the US during the centuries-long slave trade. While I certainly don't want to take anything away from that, I thought that given the current … Continue reading No Enclave — Exploring Nigerian Los Angeles
Mapping the Geography and History of South Los Angeles
Attempting map of South Los Angeles is bound to be contentious, but I've gone ahead and had a go at it anyway. No matter what anyone tells you there are no official borders of South Los Angeles and it would be hard to find two Angelenos in absolute agreement. The Los Angeles Times regards it as a 51.08 … Continue reading Mapping the Geography and History of South Los Angeles
Dirty Roots: Southern Hip-Hop Part I — The 12″ Era (1979-1983)
As far as my ears can tell, pretty near every rapper from Inglewood to Plumstead nowadays owes more than a little something to the rise of the Dirty South sound that pretty much took over hip-hop in the late 1990s. As anyone with more than a passing familiarity with the genre knows, however, southern hip-hop was … Continue reading Dirty Roots: Southern Hip-Hop Part I — The 12″ Era (1979-1983)
Black Hillbilly
The first non-Native American settlers of Appalachia and later, the Ozarks, were of primarily of three ethnicities: Scots-Irish, English, and German. These hard-working farmers and craftsmen created a distinct culture which in the 19th Century came to be named “hillbilly.” Although the Northern European roots of hillbilly are routinely acknowledged, even scholars on the culture … Continue reading Black Hillbilly
Eric Brightwell 