The Los Angeles Times has their annual Festival of Books. This year, of course, the discussion panels are being held online. That's my favorite part of the book festival. This was the 4th panel discussion I watched. This panel discussion was called, "Civic Memory and the Future of L.A." Per YouTube, here's the introduction to the discussion:
Civic Memory and the Future of L.A. - What and who should be remembered and memorialized across public spaces, and what should such commemorations look like? Members of the Civic Memory Working Group of Los Angeles, a diverse gathering of artists, architects, historians, and others, will explore the ideas and obligations around civic memory (and civic amnesia). Featuring USC Professor Christopher Hawthorne, architects Frederick Fisher and Gail Kennard, and Associate Professor Taj Frazier, moderated by Professor William Deverell.
Christopher Hawthorne - Professor of the Practice in English at USC / Chief Design Officer for City of L.A.
He was at the LA Times for 14 years. He's the chief design officer for L.A., which means he improves the architecture and design of the city. For example, he's working on public art at the LAX expansion.
The origins of his involvement in the Civic Memory Working Group goes back to his time as an architecture critic. This brought up the question of who is recognized from history and who is forgotten in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is seen as a place of re-invention. The fact that Hollywood is here helps.
The Civic Memory Working Group involves 3 dozen historians, architects, etc. They plan to issue a report at the end of 2020.
Sometimes the city should take a more active role in civic memory and other times should give voice to community groups and stay out of the way.
How does one recognize the layers of memories versus the culture of re-invention. People come to Los Angeles to escape, break free from history. How do you bring this into memories.
It is interesting how the Los Angeles population has stabilized due to a lack of immigration.
Early history of Los Angeles had a strong belief in engineering such as freeways and the Los Angeles river. This caused displacement in the city.
Fred Fisher - Architect
He works on public projects such as an extension at the Natural History Museum. He also worked on the Annenberg Beach House. To him, the Annenberg Beach House is layers of meaning over time. It was created for people to make memories. Memories aren't just static. They're both backwards looking and something we are actively pursuing. The Annenberg Beach House is to inspire people to create new memories.
The Civic Memory Working Group is looking to designate authentic and unique places as heritage sites: ranging from Frank Lloyd Wright homes to the Watts Towers.
The more people that are involved causes more complexity to come to a single vision. How do you manage a plurality vision versus a singular vision.
He's been reading Richard Rothstein's book "The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America." The book discusses how zoning regulations and employment practices had enduring effects on population and the shape of the city. These structural conditions of society need to be recognized.
Gail Kennard - Architect
There is a mission to designate properties as significant sites. There is a skew towards significant architecture properties. There is a move to designate less prominent architectural sites. For example, there is a non-descript building that is being designated as a significant site as it was used by an African American women's club in Venice and helps tell the story of the city. Also, people have to be able to afford having their property given such a designation.
She is involved in Cultural Heritage Commission meetings. She didn't know that City Hall was built in 1928. The location of City Hall used to be the site of an indigenous community. One move of the meetings is to incorporate indigenous memories into the city.
We don't just want to remember the triumphant, but also those who weren't triumphant. They want to elevate the sense of human dignity. Winners shouldn't be the only ones who tell the story, but also those who suffered.
Taj Frazier - Associate Professor of Communication and Director of the Institute for Diversity and Empowerment at Annenberg at USC
He grew up in New York. Parents taught him that memory and history are contested and to some degree how that relates to space. He grew up near areas dedicated to Malcolm X and Columbus. He celebrated Malcolm X, but not Columbus.
In terms of Los Angeles, he spent time with Krump dancers, street dancers. They would perform in spaces such as parking lots at midnight. It was a time of dancing and fellowship. He found it powerful how the spaces were re-imagined for expression of identity. It was a time to imagine a different future. This is something that isn't usually celebrated by the city.
He was also involved in turning pay phones into art in Leimert Park. It was a way to bring people to the area for engagement and inquiry.
Civic memory is both about the past and the present. Civic Memory Working Group has the city acting more like facilitator versus gatekeeper. The city needs to put more resources into community groups /organizations and make the process more transparent. The working group is an eclectic, multi-ethnic group of historians, artists and others who bring in different assumptions and thoughts. It is a mixture of different interest groups and backgrounds. The group is attempting to avoid a top-down approach from the city.
After the death of Walter Wallace Jr. in Philadelphia, he started to think about Eula Mae Love who was killed in 1979 over an electric or water bill. Also, Latasha Harlan's shooting that lead to the 1992 uprising. And the 600 people killed by police since 2012 in Los Angeles.
My opinion of the panel discussion.
They avoided the more controversial topics of recent destruction of statutes across the country. There also seemed to be this underlying tension between those who wanted to involve as many people as possible (Frazier) versus those who felt that sometimes you need to limit participation to get something done (Fisher).
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