Gentrification: How the Canon Encroaches Upon Communities
The preservation of Black murals has long found itself at odds with redevelopment efforts on the behalf of the City of Los Angeles. Gaining traction in the nineties, gentrification is a process by which room is made for high-income residencies and industrial facilities so as to promote economic growth in low-income communities.[1] Such a process displaces low-income residents and has particularly affected Los Angeles’ Black community.[2] It is important to note that the University of Southern California has long been responsible for the gentrification of the South Central Los Angeles area.
Long excluded from the White-dominated art world, Black artists sought alternative means to showcase their work. Making a neighborhood’s barren walls their canvas, murals provide Black artists a platform of creative expression with little to no limits. Perhaps best encapsulated by The Organization of Black American Culture’s 1967 Chicago mural entitled the Wall of Respect (fig. 1) such a mural featured portraits of major Black figures across multiple industries and was made by and for community members. The mural’s inclusivity of the Black community starkly contrasts the historic exclusivity of White art institutions, in which Black creators have had to attune their pieces to the White eye. As murals attempt to extend Black narratives, Los Angeles gentrification has both literally and metaphorically whitewashed said artworks. On behalf of Los Angeles redevelopment efforts, murals have been censored, demolished, and covered with paint. For instance, in 2019 CalTrans covered Judy Baca’s Hitting the Wall (fig. 2), a mural celebrating the 1984 Olympics, the first games in which women were allowed to compete, with white paint.[3]
In other cases, murals have found themselves far from at odds with gentrification, even being commissioned with the intention of developing an area. For example, in the process of gentrifying certain areas within Los Angeles, the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles funded murals such as Elizabeth Garrison and Victor Henderson’s Fifty-One Bees (fig. 3) and Frank Romero’s Homage to Downtown Movie Palaces (fig. 4). As murals are often produced to represent the “history, politics, fears, dreams, and aspirations of a community, ” the co-opting of them by pro-gentrification organizations, in conjunction with the demolition of pre-existing murals, symbolizes an attempt to re-represent these communities.[4] Black muralism, which historically has functioned to represent overlooked communities, thus fundamentally stands at odds with gentrification.
One neighborhood where tensions surrounding gentrification continue to run high is Leimert Park. Situated in southern Los Angeles, Leimert Park is soon to become home to Destination Crenshaw, a 1.3 mile open air museum featuring the work of Black artists. While many consider the celebration of Black achievement long overdue, the overarching concern among residents is the fact that, regardless of its intention, the creation of such a museum and many other grand-scale projects of its like will cause rent prices to rise. In doing so, it will displace residents of a predominantly Black neighborhood.[5] Leimert Park has long been considered a cultural hub for the Black community.[6] In light of the mass protests in the summer of 2020 standing against the murder of George Floyd, the neighborhood saw an increase in support for its Black owned businesses.[7] From clothing boutiques to stores selling hand-made jewelry, Black artistry and craftsmanship underpinned this influx in revenue.[8] The role of the Black arts in Leimert Park perhaps reveals an additional function of Black muralism. Particularly in a neighborhood that is in no short supply of murals-- with Carla Carrs’ vibrant tribute to interracial unity entitled The Last Stand: Unite (fig. 5) to the grand, cosmic-imagery-filled Elixir the Rebirth (fig. 6) by Patrick Henry Johnson-- Black muralism, like Black owned businesses, provides a means to attract tourism and generate profit within Leimert Park, thus addressing the financial struggle gentrification efforts aim to solve. Not only does Black muralism as an art form fundamentally stand against gentrification, in the case of Leimert Park, it also provides a potential means to circumvent it.
Long excluded from the White-dominated art world, Black artists sought alternative means to showcase their work. Making a neighborhood’s barren walls their canvas, murals provide Black artists a platform of creative expression with little to no limits. Perhaps best encapsulated by The Organization of Black American Culture’s 1967 Chicago mural entitled the Wall of Respect (fig. 1) such a mural featured portraits of major Black figures across multiple industries and was made by and for community members. The mural’s inclusivity of the Black community starkly contrasts the historic exclusivity of White art institutions, in which Black creators have had to attune their pieces to the White eye. As murals attempt to extend Black narratives, Los Angeles gentrification has both literally and metaphorically whitewashed said artworks. On behalf of Los Angeles redevelopment efforts, murals have been censored, demolished, and covered with paint. For instance, in 2019 CalTrans covered Judy Baca’s Hitting the Wall (fig. 2), a mural celebrating the 1984 Olympics, the first games in which women were allowed to compete, with white paint.[3]
In other cases, murals have found themselves far from at odds with gentrification, even being commissioned with the intention of developing an area. For example, in the process of gentrifying certain areas within Los Angeles, the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles funded murals such as Elizabeth Garrison and Victor Henderson’s Fifty-One Bees (fig. 3) and Frank Romero’s Homage to Downtown Movie Palaces (fig. 4). As murals are often produced to represent the “history, politics, fears, dreams, and aspirations of a community, ” the co-opting of them by pro-gentrification organizations, in conjunction with the demolition of pre-existing murals, symbolizes an attempt to re-represent these communities.[4] Black muralism, which historically has functioned to represent overlooked communities, thus fundamentally stands at odds with gentrification.
One neighborhood where tensions surrounding gentrification continue to run high is Leimert Park. Situated in southern Los Angeles, Leimert Park is soon to become home to Destination Crenshaw, a 1.3 mile open air museum featuring the work of Black artists. While many consider the celebration of Black achievement long overdue, the overarching concern among residents is the fact that, regardless of its intention, the creation of such a museum and many other grand-scale projects of its like will cause rent prices to rise. In doing so, it will displace residents of a predominantly Black neighborhood.[5] Leimert Park has long been considered a cultural hub for the Black community.[6] In light of the mass protests in the summer of 2020 standing against the murder of George Floyd, the neighborhood saw an increase in support for its Black owned businesses.[7] From clothing boutiques to stores selling hand-made jewelry, Black artistry and craftsmanship underpinned this influx in revenue.[8] The role of the Black arts in Leimert Park perhaps reveals an additional function of Black muralism. Particularly in a neighborhood that is in no short supply of murals-- with Carla Carrs’ vibrant tribute to interracial unity entitled The Last Stand: Unite (fig. 5) to the grand, cosmic-imagery-filled Elixir the Rebirth (fig. 6) by Patrick Henry Johnson-- Black muralism, like Black owned businesses, provides a means to attract tourism and generate profit within Leimert Park, thus addressing the financial struggle gentrification efforts aim to solve. Not only does Black muralism as an art form fundamentally stand against gentrification, in the case of Leimert Park, it also provides a potential means to circumvent it.
Notes
1. O’Toole, Dan Edward. “Urban redevelopment strategies and their effects: A comparison of the conventional urban renewal approach with that of tax increment financing.” PhD. diss, University of Southern California, 1977.2. O’Toole, Dan Edward.
3. Reyes-Velarde, Alejandra. “Must Reads: A historic L.A. mural was whitewashed, and the artist is fed up with the lack of respect,” The Los Angeles Times, April 19, 2019, https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-historic-olympic-mural-whitewashed-20190419-story.html.
4. Hirchfelder, Adam. “The ‘Uncensoring’ of Barbara Carrasco’s 1981 Landmark Mural L.A. History: A Mexican Perspective Returns to Union Station Sept. 29 for Mont-Long Run.” September 29, 2017.
5. Frances Anderton, “Destination Crenshaw Breaks Ground. LA Residents Are Excited but Fear Gentrification,” KCRW (KCRW, March 2, 2020), https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/greater-la/destination-crenshaw-breaks-ground/destination-crenshaw-construction-gentrification.
6. Brown, Kailyn. “Black Lives Matter brings new vitality to Leimert Park. Owners are hoping it will last,” The Los Angeles Times, September 11, 2020, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-11/activism-around-black-lives-matter-sparks-business-in-leimert-park.
7. Brown, Kailyn.
8. Brown, Kailyn.
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Brown, Kailyn. “Black Lives Matter brings new vitality to Leimert Park. Owners are hoping it will last,” The Los Angeles Times, September 11, 2020, https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-11/activism-around-black-lives-matter-sparks-business-in-leimert-park.
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