{"id":430540,"date":"2025-02-06T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/?p=430540"},"modified":"2025-03-06T19:02:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T18:02:29","slug":"leimert-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/en\/leimert-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Leimert Park"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Though I\u2019ve visited for years, my frequent trips to Leimert Park started a year ago while I was exploring the Los Angeles area with my camera. Leimert Park is a historic African American neighborhood, often coined as one of the largest West Coast hubs of Black culture. Its cultural breadth in relation to SoCal has been compared to Harlem\u2019s to New York City. After witnessing the vivacity and frequent events there, like parades, festivals, drum circles, and jazz shows, I soon became a regular visitor. <\/p>\n\n

I became interested in Leimert\u2019s Sunday African markets. There are immigrants from Ethiopia, Senegal, West Africa, Haiti, Trinidad, Jamaica, alongside African Americans. On the weekends, they offer traditional clothing, art, food, and music for sale. The vendors often dress in ornate, native clothing, or wear their finest to celebrate the day. Each week, people make new friends, and old friends meet to have lunch or listen to the best drum circle in LA. The scenes on Sundays are a true celebration of life. <\/p>\n\n

I have become friends with many of the people who frequent the market. If I see someone who piques my curiosity, whether it\u2019s the goods they\u2019re selling, the clothing they\u2019re wearing, or the music they\u2019re playing, I\u2019ll strike up a conversation about just about anything to get them talking. I encourage them to talk about where they\u2019re from and what they do, and soon enough we are sharing life stories. <\/p>\n\n

When I ask to take a photograph, some people are skeptical at first. I always bring back prints the following week to redistribute. Oftentimes, people want to pay me for the prints, which I refuse. However, I\u2019ve received some generous traded items in exchange: salmon tamales, BBQ, tee shirts, hats, sage, joints, a beard trim, bracelets, and, best of all, mutual respect. <\/p>\n\n

\"Leimert
These two young men are members of Fruit of Islam, a Black Muslim paramilitary group and security wing with a long history. FOI is widely recognized as a heavily anti-white and anti-Semitic group, historically ruled over by Elijah Muhammad. They produce and distribute a monthly newspaper, ‘The Final Call’, among Leimert Park goers and worldwide. – \u00a9Ave Pildas, 2024 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"Leimert
Brother Nyft Star<\/strong> stands against an ornate wall off the center drag that is painted with the sheet music for ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’, cited by the NAACP as the ‘Black National Anthem’. The song was originally written by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900. It debuted at a segregated childrens’ school in Florida, and was later picked up as a rallying cry for protestors during the American Black Civil Rights Movement. Nyft is, himself, a musician and i found it appropriate to pose him here. – \u00a9Ave Pildas, 2024 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"Leimert
Gabriela Tame<\/strong> is anything but ‘Tame’. She’s extremely outgoing and sells products and jewelry for your hair. She has a big physical presence, always showing out with jewelry, expressive prints, and a new hairstyle. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Gimme five!<\/h3>\n\n

The photographs a great method of building friendships, but they are a resource that the vendors can use to promote their businesses. The photographs create a vibrant collection of character portraits that celebrate the neighborhood, its vivacity, and its residents. After a year, I\u2019ve become a regular, and people greet me with fist bumps, handshakes, pats on the back, and, greatest of all, a request to take their photo. <\/p>\n\n

Some of my new friends whose photos are featured here include Curtis, a vendor who sells Native Jajotu Soap using natural fruits, oils and herbs such as turmeric, eucalyptus and coffee. Another man can be found offering body oils, palo santo, beaded bracelets, sea moss, and raw eucalyptus and sage. Monty, aka Big M, sells delicious tamales stuffed with everything from salmon, jerk chicken to collard greens. Folks participating in Sengalese drum circles celebrating historical culture and dance showcase radical expressions of community and connection. <\/p>\n\n

Mansa Moosa is a lead voice in the Africa Town Coalition, who is speaking up against gentrification of local Black business spaces in the neighborhood and has introduced me to other members of the community. Levi is a learned man in excellent health, and a great martial artist and yoga instructor. Other regulars like Roni, Father Made, and Ron Low share stories, experiences and traditions that are central to keeping the legacy of Leimert Park alive and thriving. <\/p>\n\n

\"Leimert
Masa Musa was the 9th ruler of the Mali Empire, widely regarded as the wealthiest man ever to live. This Mansa Moosa, also known as Adrian Honeel<\/strong>, rules over Los Angeles’ Leimert Park, and was the first person I photographed at the African street market here. He is an avid activist for Black freedom. We became fast friends after our first meeting. I have photographed him many times and he introduces me to other members of the community. Mansa Moosa is a lead voice in the Africa Town Coalition, an activist group that is currently speaking up against the gentrification of local Black business spaces in their neighborhood. – \u00a9Ave Pildas, 2024 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n
\"Leimert
Pictured here are three usuals with enormous impact on the unification, storytelling, and gathering of Leimert Park. On the left is PoetRoniGirl<\/strong>, or Roni, a prominent fashion designer and wordsmith who advocates for the reclamation of Black spaces, Black power, and Black tradition. She is exceptionally kind and outgoing, and writes beautifully about her experiences. Centered sits Father Amde<\/strong>, often referred to as the Father of Leimert Park. His presence is legendary; He was one of three of The Watts Prophets, a trio of spoken word Civil Rights poets who dominated the ‘jazz poem’ scene in the 60s. Additionally, he was the 3rd man in the United States to be honored as a practicing Priest of the Ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Church. A documentary produced in Leimert Park posits that the US government sent agents in disguise to set Amde’s writing workshop aflame, due to the provocative and powerful nature of his poetry. Everyone who frequents the market is familiar with Father Amde and his legacy which he lends to Leimert Park. On the right is Ron Low<\/strong>, an associate of Tupac Shakur, who recites in detail the stories they share together and his theories as to Tupac’s fate. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From streets to portraits, a photographer chronicles the vitality of Leimert Park in Los Angeles, where the African American community celebrates its history and its future<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":430445,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_tracks":0,"wds_primary__dg_original-language":0,"wds_primary__geo-map":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1123],"tags":[812,1179],"tracks":[1170],"_dg_original-language":[1038],"_geo-map":[1004],"class_list":["post-430540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-photography","tag-society","tracks-identity","_dg_original-language-english","_geo-map-united-states"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430540\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/430445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430540"},{"taxonomy":"tracks","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tracks?post=430540"},{"taxonomy":"_dg_original-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_dg_original-language?post=430540"},{"taxonomy":"_geo-map","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/doogreporter.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_geo-map?post=430540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}