On Sunday, December 2nd, thousands of people gathered outside of L.A. City Hall in downtown Los Angeles for a Children’s March protesting Israel’s bombardment of Gaza funded by U.S. tax dollars. The crowd gathered at 12:00 PM, with children of all ages holding Palestinian flags and protest signs. The march proceeded from the steps of City Hall to 1st street in Little Tokyo before turning onto Alameda Street, followed by a turn onto Temple street, and one final turn on Spring street, where speakers made more rallying cries before concluding the demonstration.
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The next day, on Sunday, December 3rd, a crowd of hundreds gathered at 9:00 AM at Normandie Recreation Center in the Pico-Union area for a march and rally led by the L.A. Tenants Union. Representatives from the L.A. Tenants Union and Union de Vecinos spoke out against rent hikes approved by L.A. City Council for February 2024 for units covered by the rent stabilization ordinance (RSO); they also lambasted obligations for back-rent payments which are set to resume in February as well and likely to leave more renters financially strained. Data suggests that more than 7 out of 10 renters in L.A. are rent-burdened, and that almost 50% are severely rent-burdened, or paying at least half of their monthly income on shelter.
Protestors held signs calling for an end to gentrification, as well as an end to “renovictions,” or evicting people to make building renovations. They also held flags for Palestine, Emiliano Zapata, and more. The march proceeded from Pico boulevard and Normandie street onto Vermont avenue, then up Vermont Avenue to Olympic boulevard. Protestors then moved west on Olympic boulevard until reaching Normandie street, where a representative from the Palestinian Youth Movement shared words of support that were translated in Spanish for non-English speakers. The march finally proceeded south on Normandie street until reaching the Recreation Center, where it concluded over taquitos and ice cream.
J.T.
P.S. from the whole team:
Dear readers,
Thank you for your loyal reading and support, and please note that this is our last dispatch for the year. We’re taking a break for the holidays but will be back in January with updates!