Thread by @sahrasulaiman

For the past 2 yrs, Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson (@mhdcd8) has worked w/ community thought leaders to "turn insult into opportunity" via #DestinationCrenshaw - a 1.3-mile-long open-air People's Museum honoring Black stories, culture & contributions to L.A. & beyond.

The “insult” was Metro’s plan to run a train at-grade up the spine of the Black community, thru the last Black business corridor, (at first) bypass the community’s cultural beating heart & build stations & commission art that deliberately ignored the context. #DestinationCrenshaw

“Insult” should be plural, is what I’m saying.

[The community was also given almost no warning that hundreds of trees would be ripped out so the Space Shuttle could be run up Crenshaw on the way to the Science Center in 2012. So, yeah... plural.] #DestinationCrenshaw

In 2014, after Metro finally approved a stop at @LPVillage, stakeholders got to work on the 20/20 Vision Initiative. The elevation of celebrations of culture are one way they look to harness changes the train might bring. [The train opens in 2020] #DestinationCrenshaw

Their mission was to safeguard the area as a hub for Black creatives rooted in the celebration of the diaspora and embodied in the Sankofa - the mythical bird that calls upon lessons from the past to help illuminate the path ahead. #DestinationCrenshaw

#DestinationCrenshaw is doing something similar, but on a much larger scope/scale - it will stretch between 60th and Vernon (linking up with south edge of Leimert Park Village).

The goal is to push back against erasure by stamping #Crenshaw not just as a place to celebrate unapologetically Black contributions, but also a place where it is safe to be unapologetically Black in Public: A Black Space, full stop. #DestinationCrenshaw

Spread across four different nodes taking inspiration from the stories of @NipseyHussle, Biddy Mason, Paul Revere Williams, the ancestors, and so many others, nearly a dozen permanent artworks will speak to key themes marking the community’s journey #DestinationCrenshaw

But b/c Blackness is ever-evolving, ~100 rotating installations and ongoing performances, celebrations, and workshops will actively engage local artists, activists & members of the community in dialogue with that identity, pushing it forward into the future. #DestinationCrenshaw

Claiming a space as Black isn’t enough to push back against gentrification, but might make it easier for the community to leverage its culture & contributions, instead of always seeing them appropriated, packaged, whitewashed, and sold back to the community. #DestinationCrenshaw

.@NipseyHussle’s involvement validates the struggles of the youth who are the first hit w/ gang injunctions & criminalized when areas “improve,” making room for their stories to be integrated into #Crenshaw’s history in a way rarely seen in public projects #DestinationCrenshaw

Elders’ concerns the team would have one shot at this project & that they’d have to “do it right, do it in order & do it at the highest level” drove the intentionality infused in every detail & the tying together of the threads of the journey to these shores #DestinationCrenshaw

What is abundantly clear is that the #DestinationCrenshaw team has created a template for #WeBuiltThisPlaceMaking. It will break ground later this spring and be completed in early 2020. la.streetsblog.org/2019/02/08/des…

I'll be following up this piece with a story on folks' relationship to #Crenshaw. If you are interested in talking to me, my DMs are open. Or email me at sahra(at)streetsblog(dot)org. #DestinationCrenshaw