South Central Farmers Evicted

June 13, 2006

LUIS J. RODRIGUEZ
http://www.xispas.com/blog/2006/06/south-central-farmers-evicted-today.html

Early this morning, at 5 AM, a squadron of helicopters, squadcars, and bulldozers came to remove the 350 families from Mexico and Central America whohave made 14 acres in an urban blighted area into a garden oasis in South Central LA(41st and Alameda streets). The South Central Farm is the largest urban farm in theUnited States. Last reports were that bulldozers were tearing down the fences and tearinginto the carefully plotted trees and plants.

This battle to save the amazing gardens and farm has been wagedfor weeks when a wealthy developer demanded to get the land back from the city so he canbuild warehouses and industrial sites (in an area chock full of warehouses and industrialsites). The farmers, however, have been on this land for 14 years.

Celebrities such as Darryl Hannah, John Quigley, and DannyGlover have recently taken part in supporting the farmers. All the protests in support ofthe farmers have been peaceful. The attack this morning shows that LA City, like mostcities in this country, cater to the rich and powerful.

South Central LA needs another industrial development like ahole in the head. Any possible new jobs would be miniscule for the vast needs in thiscommunity. The farmers were creating their own healthy food source, working long hours,insuring the land would be used to help others.

One woman supporter of the farm, Rufina Juarez, on June 10started a fast and sit-up on the tallest walnut tree, replacing Julia Butterfly, arenowned environmentalist.

The bulldozers and strong sheriff’s presence is reminiscent ofthe Chavez Ravine evictions in the 1950s of mostly poor Mexicans that eventually laid theway for the building of Dodger Stadium. Mexicans and other poor people have beenroutinely evicted from their homes and creative work spaces throughout LA history.

In East LA, the largest Mexican community in the country, thebuilding of several freeways for mostly suburban commuters in the 1950s and 1960sdestroyed many other neighborhoods. More recently the largest housing projects west ofthe Mississippi were destroyed or renovated in East LA, and largely privatized, to removemost of the poor people (what we call the “Cabrini Greening” of America, afterthe planned destruction of subsidized poor people’s housing in Chicago’s large and mostlyAfrican American Cabrini Green Housing Projects for upscale townhouses andbusinesses).

This ongoing taking of land goes back to the Native removals,to the conquest of half of Mexico, to the removal of poor black and white sharecroppersin the South, and countless “urban renewal” projects in America’s poor cities.All poor, regardless of color or nationality, have been affected. We must not let thesekinds of removals continue in the name of “progress” (read: to enrich thecoffers of the already wealthy).

The South Central Farmers represented self-determination andself-sufficiency. Now many of these families will probably need to be dependent on otherpeople and industries for work and lodgings.

We need to spread the word about this outrage. The poor have tocome together, organize, and win back their dignity and ability to rule and survive bytheir own means.

POSTED BY LUIS J. RODRIGUEZ