'We must guard against repeating the sins of our fathers,' writes former mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa. 'We need now to have uncomfortable yet deeply necessary conversations about racism in this city.' (via latimesopinion)
On April 30, 1992, I was new to public service as a member of the Southern California Rapid Transit District board. I will never forget the images of that day: the flames, the smoke, the faces of fear and rage. Those images have remained with me, vivid reminders of the anger and frustration felt by people suffering daily humiliations inflicted by public institutions that were rife with bigotry.
I have known the people involved for many years and have seen some of them do great things for our community. But somewhere along the line they veered off course. The responsibility for healing this city isn’t only theirs, however. It is imperative that the roots of racism and the broken city structure are not swept under the rug with the next news cycle.
The plain fact is they were trying to act as a bloc within the council to protect their own districts at the expense of other communities of color. While the reason for this conversation was ostensibly “redistricting,” let’s be honest: This was an attempt to hold on to power, regardless of how it affected their constituents.
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